Doctors Learn They Can Get Paid For Treating The Really Sick

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More uninsured joining health coverage program

Feb 17, 2011

By: Medical Economics Staff

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If your practice is starting to see greater numbers of patients with conditions

that used to prevent them from getting insurance coverage, it may be due to the

growing popularity of the Enrollment in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance

Plan (PCIP), a health plan for uninsured people with pre-existing conditions.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, PCIP has grown by

more than 12,000 in the past 3 months, an increase of more than 50%.

“This program has helped thousands of people that desperately need coverage,

and we are excited to see Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan enrollment is

ramping up, as more people learn about the new insurance options available,â€

Steve Larsen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance

Oversight (CCIIO), said in a press release.

This temporary program created by the Affordable Care Act covers a broad range

of health benefits for people with pre-existing conditions who cannot obtain

private health insurance coverage. It’s a stopgap until 2014, when all

Americans will have access to coverage either through their employer or through

a new competitive marketplace, and insurers will be prohibited from denying

coverage to anyone based on their health status.

The department is promoting the plan through consumer groups, chronic disease

organizations, healthcare providers, social workers, other federal agencies, and

the insurance industry. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) is

including information about the plan in the approximately 3.2 million social

security disability insurance application receipts distributed each year.

Several large commercial insurance carriers, including Wellpoint, United Health

Group, Humana, and several Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans, are including

information about PCIP in their insurance denial letters.

If your patients want information about PCIP, you can refer them to the Web

site, PCIP.gov. It offers information about eligibility and benefits and

includes applications for the plan in each state. English and Spanish language

brochures and posters about PCIP are available for downloading or printing at

HealthCare.gov/center/brochures.

 

http://tinyurl.com/4nzbgsk

 

https://pcip.gov/