Ohio picks Medical Mutual to run high-risk pool

The Ohio Department of Insurance last week announced that it has chosen Medical Mutual of Ohio to operate the state’s temporary high-risk insurance pool (Source: “Medical Mutual to run state's high-risk pool,” Columbus Dispatch, June 26, 2010).

Federal reform legislation passed in March requires a high-risk pool in every state so that those with pre-existing medical conditional can purchase insurance. The pool will operate until 2014, when a state-managed insurance exchange will be established.

In its proposal, Medical Mutual, a nonprofit company, estimated that it could cover more than 5,000 Ohioans through the duration of the program, with individuals paying a standard premium for their coverage. No state funds will be used to provide this coverage.

At the same time, a new nationwide program designed to help people turned down for health coverage because of preexisting health conditions launched Thursday, which will be used by residents of the 21 states that opted against setting up a state-run high-risk pool (Source: "Obama administration unveils government health-care Web site," Washington Post, July 1, 2010)

The Obama administration unveiled on Thursday a new website, www.healthcare.gov,  where people who’ve been turned down for health coverage can go to find new options until the health-reform law’s major provisions take effect in 2014.