Board Overseeing Maryland’s New High-Risk Insurance Pool Holds First Meeting

The board that supervises Maryland's new state-run, high-risk insurance pool held its first meeting on July 1 to discuss some issues that must be resolved before the plan becomes operational, the Baltimore Sun reports (Salganik, Baltimore Sun, 7/2). Beginning July 1, 2003, the Maryland Health Insurance Program will sell insurance policies to residents unable to afford traditional health coverage because of pre-existing health conditions. The program will be paid for through member premiums and an charge assessed to state hospitals. It will replace an existing Maryland program -- called SAAC or "substantial, available and affordable coverage" -- that offers private insurers a 4% discount on hospital charges if they agree to offer health policies to individuals regardless of their medical histories (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/10). The state "rush[ed]" to launch the new program because three insurance companies -- CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc. and Aetna U.S. Healthcare -- said they wanted to "get out of the business" of underwriting high-risk policies. The insurers will continue to cover current members until the new program is operational, the Sun reports. Steven Larsen, state insurance commissioner, said, "There's an incredible amount of work that will need to be done [before the program is running]" (Baltimore Sun, 7/2).