USA Today (4/29, Young) reports, "About 200,000 Americans whose illnesses have kept them from getting regular health insurance will not be allowed to enroll this summer in a new lower cost federal program for people like them because they already buy pricey state-run plans." USA Today adds, "The nation's new health law creates a far cheaper insurance program opening July 1 for people with pre-existing medical conditions. To qualify, a person can't have had health coverage for six months." As a result, "it excludes people already enrolled in 35 state high-risk pools offering insurance of last resort. The state pools charge high premiums...to help cover costs." HHS spokeswoman Jenny Backus "said the federal pools are a temporary fix to help uninsured people with pre-existing conditions get coverage until 2014."

I trust this is an unintended result of their efforts. Those who sought safety in state high risk pools already cannot get on the new mandated Federal program....hmmm