Beginning Aug. 15, chronically ill Rhode Islanders unable to afford health insurance will be able to apply for less expensive coverage as part of the federal health-care overhaul. The state has selected Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island to administer $13 million in federal money for the unhealthy uninsured over the next three years. The nonprofit insurer will create a new “high-risk pool” for an estimated 500 people with medical problems who have not had coverage for at least six months. The aid is intended to last only until 2014 when major reform provisions — including a prohibition on insurers denying coverage to people in poor health — extend health insurance to an additional 32 million Americans.
