PCIP Enrollment Swells to Over 50,000

While millions continue to sit on the Affordable Care Act watch, a funny thing is happening across the country. Enrollment in Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plans continues to grow from coast to coast, from a paltry 12,437 twelve months ago to 56,257. It is a major increase in a program which had been considered a centerpiece to President Obama’s healthcare reform, but which had been been plagued by disappointingly low enrollment.

PCIP enrollment nationwide is still a far cry from the 375,000 Americans with pre-existing condition who were projected to enroll in the program when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law. Still, in Alabama alone enrollment has increased five times, from a miniscule 61 enrollees last February to nearly 400. Like other states, Alabama’s PCIP health insurance premiums were slashed by 40% last July, and enrollment surged.

“For too long, Americans with pre-existing conditions were locked out of the health care system, and their health suffered,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a recent prepared statement. “Thanks to health reform, our most vulnerable Americans across the country have the care they need.”

The PCIPs are a temporary measure which will continue until 2014, when health insurance must be offered to all Americans regardless of pre-existing conditions. Currently, Americans with pre-existing conditions are often denied health insurance coverage or are only offered health insurance which is prohibitively expensive.

PCIPs are enrolling members on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you are at all interested in applying for a PCIP, we advise you to apply even if you are unsure if you qualify. More information on all of the state PCIPs is available at HealthCare.gov.

Have you thought about joining a PCIP? Tell us about it in our discussion forum!

Related posts:

1. California Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) Gets More Funds, Will Continue Enrollment
2. California Pre-Existing Condition Health Insurance Pool (PCIP) Could be Capped in 2 Months
3. Colorado Pre-Existing Condition Health Insurance Plan (PCIP) Running Out of Money
4. California’s Pre-Existing Health Insurance Plan (PCIP) Enrollment Tops 6,000
5. Michigan Cuts Premiums for Pre-Existing Condition Health Insurance Plan (PCIP) By 10%