Health coverage for adults with pre-existing conditions to receive financial boost in California

California Health InsuranceThe federal government will be sending California $118 million in funds to support its health coverage of adults who have a pre-existing medical condition in 2012.

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) has been federally funded and state run since 2010, to make sure that those who would be otherwise uninsurable would be able to obtain coverage, regardless of the medical conditions that have either caused insurers to deny them a policy or to charge astronomical premiums.

The PCIP functions as a transition to provide this necessary coverage until 2014, when the regulation in the healthcare reforms that stops insurers from charging higher premiums or denying coverage to people who have pres-existing conditions will come into effect.

The additional financial support from the federal government brings its support of the state program to $347 million. The PCIP is operated by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, where officials have said that the funding was required to both broaden the program’s reach and simply to keep up with the costs of the claims that are already coming in.

The plan in California has one of the largest enrollments in the country. By the close of November 2011, there were 5,972 members in the program. Sarah Smith, a spokesperson for the board, said that the per-member monthly costs have increased to a point that they are now three times greater than the original estimates.

The new funding stops the program from having to cap its enrollment at the end of 2013 to a top possible enrollment of 6,800 members.

For more information and rates on California insurance.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.