Heritage Foundation: Side Effects: Another Obamacare Initiative Bites the Dust

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“Obamacare created the PCIP, commonly called a high-risk pool, as a temporary way to cover those with pre-existing or chronic conditions before 2014, when insurance companies will be prohibited from excluding people based on health conditions.

In an explanation of the Administration’s decision, Ryan Young, senior director of federal government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, stated, “They just said enrollment’s up to where we want it to be, basically, and we don’t need your services anymore.”

This is interesting given that thus far, the PCIP has largely been a failure. The Administration claims that as many as one in two Americans, or 129 million people, could suffer from pre-existing conditions. Of these, the Medicare actuary predicted that 375,000 would enroll in the new program offering them coverage. Instead, enrollment stands at 15 percent of the actuary’s estimate, with only 56,257 enrollees. And that’s after eligibility requirements and premiums were lowered the previous year to encourage more to participate.”

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