The Affordable Care Act created the new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program to make health insurance available to Americans denied coverage by private insurance companies because of a pre-existing condition. Coverage for people living with such conditions as diabetes, asthma, cancer, and HIV/AIDS has often been priced out of the reach of most Americans who buy their own insurance, and this has resulted in a lack of coverage for millions. The temporary program covers a broad range of health benefits and is designed as a bridge for people with pre-existing conditions who cannot obtain health insurance coverage in today’s private insurance market. In 2014, all Americans – regardless of their health status – will have access to affordable coverage either through their employer or through new competitive marketplaces called Exchanges, and insurers will be prohibited from charging more or denying coverage to anyone based on the state of their health.

The PCIP program is administered by either the State or the Federal government: 23 States and the District of Columbia elected to have their PCIP program administered by the Federal government while 27 States have chosen to run their own programs.

The PCIP program began accepting applications for enrollment this summer (July 1 for the Federal program, dates for State programs varied). The chart below details the date when each State began providing benefits to people accepted into the program and the number of people enrolled in the program as reported by each State as of February 1, 2011.

= Federally Administered PCIP

State	Date Coverage for Enrollees Began (in 2010)	Number of People Enrolled, reported as of February 1, 2011*
Alabama	August 1	61
Alaska	September 1	20
Arizona	August 1	270
Arkansas	September 1	147
California	October 25	706
Colorado	September 1	434
Connecticut	September 1	22
Delaware	August 1	34
District of Columbia	October 1	10
Florida	August 1	613
Georgia	August 1	399
Hawaii	August 1	23
Idaho	August 1	42
Illinois	September 1	943
Indiana	August 1	131
Iowa	September 1	80
Kansas	August 1	112
Kentucky	August 1	56
Louisiana	August 1	92
Maine	August 1	13
Maryland	September 1	145
**Massachusetts	August 1	0
Michigan	October 1	89
Minnesota	August 1	29
Mississippi	August 1	58
Missouri	August 15	166
Montana	August 1	153
Nebraska	August 1	39
Nevada	August 1	125
New Hampshire	July 1	78
New Jersey	August 15	216
New Mexico	August 1	198
New York	October 1	411
North Carolina	August 1	674
North Dakota	August 1	5
Ohio	September 1	726
Oklahoma	September 1	190
Oregon	August 1	483
Pennsylvania	October 1	2046
Rhode Island	September 15	85
South Carolina	August 1	242
South Dakota	July 15	62
Tennessee	August 1	171
Texas	August 1	1007
Utah	September 1	117
**Vermont	September 1	0
Virginia	August 1	204
Washington	September 1	139
West Virginia	September 1	15
Wisconsin	August 1	307
Wyoming	August 1	49
	Total	12,437

* Enrollment with respect to the federally-administered is shown as of February 1, 2011 while enrollment with respect to the state-administered PCIPs is reported as of December 31, 2010. This is because the deadline for State reporting lags by 1 month.

** Massachusetts and Vermont are guarantee issue States that have already implemented many of the broader market reforms included in the Affordable Care Act that take effect in 2014. Existing commercial plans offering guaranteed coverage at premiums comparable to PCIP are already available in both States.

Past enrollment data is available here.

Posted: February 10, 2011