For the past few months there has been concern that a $5 billion budget would not be enough to cover the large amount of people expected to enroll in a network of health insurance pools for those with pre-existing conditions.  Some thought the money would be exhausted by 2012.

According to the article “High-Risk Insurance Pools Are Attracting Few” by Kevin Sack on the NYTimes site, after a few months of operation in most states the plan has only enrolled only 8,011.  This is according to a new report by the Department of Health and Human Services.  As of November 1st, enrollment was far below 10% of capacity.

This slow start up is definitely a cause for concern as both parties thought it would help relieve many uninsured Americans.  They do expect enrollment to pick up in 2011, but it’s hard to tell by how much it will increase.  Lack of awareness is one of the main reasons for slow enrollment, so hopefully as word gets out over the next few months this plan will ultimately meet the enrollment necessary for success.