States resist helping people denied health insurance

As many as 20 states probably will not operate new insurance programs for Americans who have been denied health coverage, forcing the federal government to step in to implement one of the key elements of the healthcare overhaul legislation, according to administration officials. Democrats earmarked $5 billion to create state-based high-risk pools as a way to help sick, uninsured Americans between now and 2014, when new insurance regulations will prohibit insurers from denying coverage to people because of preexisting medical conditions. Led by the Georgia insurance commissioner, however, a succession of mostly Republican state officials has been rejecting the idea of creating state pools, voicing concerns that state governments would end up having to pay some of the costs of operating them over the next 3 1/2 years. By last week's deadline set by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, 15 states had informed the Department that they would not set up new pools, including South Carolina, Minnesota and Wyoming.