WASHINGTON - Congressman Harold Ford supported legislation that passed the House today to extend funding for state high risk insurance pools. This bill would enable states to provide health insurance for the "medically uninsurable" - people whose medical history, age or other health characteristics make it difficult for them to obtain health care coverage in the group health insurance market. More importantly for Tennessee, which is one of 18 states currently without a high risk pool, it authorizes up to $1 million of seed money to each state that has not created a pool for costs of creation and initial operation."Since the creation of TennCare, Tennessee has been without a high risk pool. But the recent disenrollments have made other options necessary for those in need," Ford said. "It is critical to explore new ways for the federal government to partner with states to meet our growing health care challenges, particularly for small business owners and people with chronic conditions. A high risk pool needs to be a viable option along with other available proposals. We must ensure any safety net can truly catch as many needy Tennesseans as possible."
Earlier this year, Ford introduced his own legislation to fund state high risk pools. It provided a more generous amount of seed and operational funds to help programs get off the ground and running more quickly.
