skimpy health law plans leave some 'underinsured'

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEALTH_OVERHAUL_UNDERINSURED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-04-03-36-19


This photo taken Dec. 19, 2013 shows Avalere Health Vice President Caroline Pearson posing for a photo in her office in Washington. For working people making modest wages and struggling with high medical bills from chronic disease, President Barack Obama's health care plan sounds like long-awaited relief. But it could turn into an unfulfilled promise. Chronically ill people are likely to be underinsured and face extremely high out-of-pocket costs, says Pearson, who tracks the health care overhaul for Avalere Health, a market research and consulting firm. While the subsidies help, there still may be access problems for some populations. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For working people making modest wages and struggling with high medical bills from chronic disease, President Barack Obama's health care plan sounds like long-awaited relief. But the promise could go unfulfilled.

It's true that patients with cancer and difficult conditions such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease will be able to get insurance and financial help with monthly premiums.

But their annual out-of-pocket costs could still be so high they'll have trouble staying out of debt.

You couldn't call them uninsured any longer. You might say they're "underinsured."

[Jim Lane]

1. This was the experience in Massachusetts under Romneycare

See, for example, this article from 2011, based on examination of the first few years of Romneycare: "Study: New Healthcare Law Won't Stop Medical Bankruptcies".