House GOP committee chairs recently criticized the Obama administration’s operation of two temporary health insurance pools, subsidizing retirees and people with preexisting conditions under the healthcare reform law, according to a report by The Hill.
One pool, covering individuals with preexisting conditions until the law’s ban on denying coverage for people with preexisting conditions goes into effect, costs too much and covers too few people, Republicans said.
The reform law has budgeted $5 billion to set up such pools in each state. But while 375,000 people were expected to sign up by the end of 2010, only a little more than 12,000 have done so, the Republicans said.
The GOP characterized the other pool, which helps companies and unions cover the cost of insuring early retirees, as corporate welfare. Republicans focused on $36 million given to General Electric, which avoided paying any income taxes in 2010.
Meanwhile, HHS announced the $5 billion retiree program would stop accepting applicants within weeks, well ahead of its 2014 sunset date, but the preexisting conditions program would continue.
Read The Hill report on healthcare reform.
Read more coverage of health insurance risk pools:
– As GOP Starts Investigating, Once-Stagnant Risk Pools See Rising Enrollment
– Few People Signing up for New Preexisting Condition Coverage
– Risk Pools, GOP’s Alternative to Individual Mandate, Getting Few Takers So Far
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