New report: Washington State Health Insurance Pool

The state's high-risk health insurance pool, known as the Washington State Health Insurance Pool, has issued its annual report. From it:

• The program saw a 5 percent decline in enrollment last year, probably due to the availability of a temporary (and now closing) federal high risk pool here in Washington state.

• And claim costs increased 11 percent, from $93 million to $103 million.

Some 3,675 people are enrolled in WSHIP. These are folks that cannot find coverage at the current time in the individual insurance market or Medicare supplement market, due to pre-existing medical conditions such as kidney failure, cancer and HIV/AIDS. (Under federal health care reform, insurers next year will no longer be able to turn away sick applicants.)

Created in 1987 by the Legislature, WSHIP is overseen by a board of directors. The program is not state-funded: Premiums charged to members cover about a third of claim costs; health insurers pay the remaining costs. Administrative costs are about 3 percent of expenses.