Thanks to federal subsidies, people who have been
denied coverage or quoted outrageous premiums because of their
health history can buy these comprehensive health plans for about the same price as a healthy person their age would pay for a private plan. The catch is that to qualify for the program, the law says people must have gone without insurance for at least six months. Even so, 67,482 Americans had enrolled in these plans as of April 30, 2012.