Pre-Existing Condition Health Plan Enrollment Still Well Below Capacity

After one year, California's Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan has enrolled 5,000 individuals, but enrollment is far below what the program can support, the Sacramento Business Journal reports (Robertson, Sacramento Business Journal, 10/27).

Background

PCIP provides coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions until 2014, when the federal health reform law mandates that private insurers accept all applicants regardless of pre-existing conditions.

The federal government has allotted California $761 million to operate its version of the program.

To qualify for coverage in PCIP, an applicant must be a U.S. citizen or documented resident, have lacked medical coverage in the past six months and have a medical condition that could warrant denial of coverage (California Healthline, 8/3).

Enrollment Details

Officials have estimated that PCIP has the capacity to enroll 25,000 individuals annually (Sacramento Business Journal, 10/27). Earlier this year, state officials lowered PCIP premium costs by an average of 18% to encourage enrollment (California Healthline, 8/3).

Cliff Allenby -- chair of the state Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, which operates the program -- said, "We are pleased to reach this point at the one-year mark" (MRMIB release, 10/25).