High Risk Insurance Pools Attract Very Few

Obamacare's new insurance pools for people with pre-existing conditions have enrolled only 8,011 people, according to figures made available by the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a Wall Street Journal report.  It was projected that hundreds of thousands of otherwise uninsurable people would rush to gain coverage this year.

Enrollment in most states as of Nov. 1 was well below 10 percent of capacity. New York and Florida have each enrolled fewer than 300. Meanwhile, 21 states have fewer than 50 newly on the rolls.

The slow start-up, reported the Journal, is alarming not only for the Democratic administration but also for the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Republicans opposed the health care law as a whole -- while endorsing high-risk pools.

Senator John McCain of Arizona, called for a vast expansion of the pools.