…and as a companion piece on the web, a look at how insurance pools are supposed to work, and why so far they haven’t:

One of the keys to the various health reform plans kicking around Washington is “pooling.” The proposal floated by President Obama during the campaign, for instance, would establish a National Health Insurance Exchange designed to help small businesses and individuals reduce their premiums.

Pooling is a great idea in theory. But historically, it hasn’t succeeded at significantly expanding affordable coverage… [read more]