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Company focusing on 'high risk pool' will talk health insurance Friday

From Staff Reports

Published: November 19, 2009

Having trouble finding health insurance due to a pre-existing condition?
Inclusive Health, the North Carolina chartered "high risk pool" health care plan, will be in Asheville today (Friday) to offer information and services.
Representatives from Inclusive Health recently received a federal grant to make its high-risk pool even more affordable and are traveling to Asheville to share the program with western North Carolinians.
"We are very excited about this $1.5 million grant which will make Inclusive Health coverage available to individuals on fixed incomes who may have found affordable insurance unattainable," said Michael Keough, executive director of Inclusive Health.
The enrollment event will team trained agents with applicants to Inclusive Health — also known as the North Carolina Health Insurance Risk Pool (NCHIRP). The agents will assist individuals with policy questions, possibly qualifying for the new premium subsidy, comparing rates with other policies and helping determine if Inclusive Health is right for them.
Open enrollment is from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. with assistance available for residents to apply for coverage. At 11 there will be a brief presentation detailing the program and allowing the media and public to ask questions about Inclusive Health.
The state created Inclusive Health as an affordable option for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions who lack access to group coverage or other government programs like Medicare or Medicaid. It also covers North Carolinians who have exhausted COBRA and trade displaced workers.
As a possible reflection of the hard economic times, since coverage started Jan. 1, the majority of enrollees have been individuals exhausting their COBRA continuation coverage.
The event takes place at Mission Children's Clinic at 11 Vanderbilt Park Drive in Asheville.
The grant funding Inclusive Health Assist was awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under a federal High Risk Pool Operational Loss Grant Program. Inclusive Health Assist is offering discounted premiums to eligible individuals with annual incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level on a first-come first-serve basis.
The subsidy is available to existing and new Inclusive Health members.
Through enrollment events across North Carolina, Inclusive Health is working to raise public awareness regarding the uninsured while providing assistance in getting coverage to potential applicants.
The program started providing coverage on Jan. 1 and has approved 2390 applications for coverage since then.
"In North Carolina, there are approximately 200,000 individuals who may be eligible for Inclusive Health because they have pre-existing conditions and lack access to affordable health coverage," said Keough. "This event is about letting them know Inclusive Health may be a viable option for their health care coverage – and this subsidy makes it viable for many more."
To learn more, visit Inclusive Health on the Web at www.inclusivehealth.org. There you'll find a list of items to bring to enrollment events.