NU Online News Service, Oct. 1, 2004, 4:15 p.m. EDT

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is giving New Mexico $2 million to help it cover offset losses on a “risk pool” that insures the health of 1,200 state residents with health problems.[@@]

State risk pools insure the health of about 172,000 high-risk U.S. residents, HHS says.

“Today’s grant is part of the Bush administration’s broad strategy for expanding access to health care for the more than 40 million Americans without health insurance,” HHS says in a statement about the grant.