government
Preexisting condition plan enrollment grows
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 5, 2012
After a slow start, enrollment in a federal program to cover people with preexisting health conditions is expected to reach 50,000 in March, according to a Feb. 23 announcement by the Dept. of Health and Human Services.
The national health system reform law provided $5 billion in funding for the Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan, which covers people who have been denied access to health insurance because of their medical status. PCIP expires in 2014, when the health reform law starts banning all such health plan exclusions. Twenty-seven states operate their own PCIP programs. HHS runs a national program in 23 other states and the District of Columbia.
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to sign up for PCIP, but only 18,000 had as of March 2011. HHS responded by reducing national plan premiums by up to 40% in 18 states effective in July 2011 and by encouraging other states to consider similar reductions. HHS also began allowing an applicant to prove he or she has a preexisting condition by submitting a letter from a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. Previously, HHS had required a coverage denial letter from a health insurance plan to qualify for the program.
Critics of the health reform law have noted that the stopgap program has covered far fewer people and has cost far more than projected.
PCIP is open to U.S. citizens who have been uninsured for at least six months, and who have a preexisting condition or have been denied health coverage because of a health condition, according to HHS. More information about the program is available online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/03/05/gvbf0305.htm.
