Obama administration winds down plan for 'uninsurables'

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is quietly winding down one of the earliest programs created by the president's health care overhaul law.

It's a plan that provides stopgap coverage for uninsured people with medical problems who have been turned down by insurers.

Administration officials broke the news to state counterparts in a teleconference on Friday.

They said the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will stop taking new applications because of funding concerns. The suspension happens immediately in 23 states where the federal government administers the program, but states that run their own plans may have more time, depending on contract arrangements.

The more than 100,000 people already in the program will not lose coverage and will be able to transfer to other insurance once the health care overhaul takes full effect in January.