In Michigan people who are chronically ill will have a good choice of getting a low-cost option for health insurance.

In a new high-risk pool, Michigan health officials hope to begin enrolling residents late this summer. This plan would prove as a boon for those who were not given health insurance or priced out of private health plans because of their medical history.

The high-risk pool would help residents of Michigan in the number of thousands as the plan would bridge the coverage gap for residents who are medically ill until health reform comes in force in 2014 and insurers no more have the right to reject people for their pre-existing medical conditions.

The new plan also means that some people would be needed to pay more after buying their own health insurance. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan intends to increase rates on about 189,000 members who buy their own health insurance.

Mchigan, to help subsidize the cost of member medical bills, would be getting $140 million in federal funding to help subsidize the cost of member medical bills.

Rick Murdock, executive director of the Michigan Association of Health Plans, an industry group in Lansing said, "The high-risk pool is intended to be on top of and not to supplant the mechanisms the state already has."