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August 24, 2010 at 08:00 PM
Two Michigan carriers have worked out a deal to rescue the state’s ability to run a homegrown Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program.
Priority Health, Grand Rapids, Mich., averted a possible PCIP administrative crisis by agreeing to let Physician’s Health Plan (PHP) of Mid-Michigan, Lansing, Mich., serve as the sole Michigan PCIP program administrator, according to officials at the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation.
The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) – the legislative package that includes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act – created the $5 billion PCIP program fill in coverage gaps before a nationwide ban on medical underwriting is set to take effect in 2014.
The PCIP program is supposed to provide individuals with serious health problems access to coverage at rates comparable to individual rates in the commercial 
market.
The program is open to individuals with serious pre-existing conditions who have been uninsured for at least 6 months
Some states are letting the new federal Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (OCIIO) run their PCIP programs, but a majority will be running their own risk plans.
Michigan has received a PCIP budget allocation of $141 million, or about enough money to provided subsidized coverage for a few thousand state residents with serious health problems.
