Enrollment in the federally-funded Illinois Preexisting Condition Insurance Plan (IPXP) exceeds 1,000 members, the Illinois Department of Insurance announced.
IPXP began offering a lower-deductible coverage option Jan. 1 and providing coverage without any cost-sharing requirements for annual physicals, immunizations, mammograms, and colorectal cancer screenings and other preventive benefits, the department says.
"With a health insurance industry that is increasingly aggressive in pricing and denying coverage, IPXP comes at an opportune time," said Michael T. McRaith, director of the Illinois Department of Insurance.
Under the federal Affordable Care Act, insurers may not base coverage or pricing decisions on a person's health status starting Jan. 1, 2014. To provide transitional coverage until 2014 for people who have been uninsured for six months and have pre-existing conditions, the Affordable Care Act appropriates $5 billion to fund temporary high-risk pools in every state. Illinois estimates its share under IPXP at $196 million.
IPXP offers a preferred provider organization insurance product with either a $1,000 or $2,000 annual deductible, 80%/20% cost sharing, and a maximum major medical out-of-pocket annual cost of $2,350. Prescription drug benefits are also subject to 80/20 percent cost-sharing, with a maximum out-of-pocket cost of $1,600 per year.
-Trevor Thomas
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