July 1, 2011

Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans- Program Features, Early Enrollment and Spending Trends, & Federal Oversight Activities

In July 2011, United States Government Accounting Office (GAO) released a report which stated that enrollment the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program has been lower than expected. The PCIP program was authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 to serve as a safety net for people unable to obtain commercial health insurance due to pre-existing health conditions. At the time the federal government had anticipated that between 200,000 and 400,000 people would enroll; as of April 2011, 21,000 people were enrolled.  The GAO conducted the study to examine the funding, implementation, and oversight of the PCIP programs; 27 states run their own PCIP programs, people in the remaining states are covered by a federally-run PCIP program.