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SOURCE: Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits announced the Termination of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) Broker Referral Program, which officially ended on 5/1.
Park City, UT (PRWEB) May 16, 2012
Last month, Zane Benefits, which provides small businesses with comprehensive and flexible alternatives to traditional group health insurance, broke the news that the $100 broker commission program for PCIP was being eliminated. Since the announcement, a heated debate about the PCIP referral program has ensued.
The referral program was aimed at brokers who assist consumers enrolling in the federal Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP).
The Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) broke the news about the change with this announcement:
"We are writing to thank you for the extraordinary efforts you have made in helping to increase awareness of and enrollment in the PCIP program. We have determined that our outreach efforts have succeeded in significantly raising awareness of PCIP and enrollment in this program. As such, CMS will end the PCIP Broker Referral Payment Program in federally administered PCIP states May 1, 2012."
Congress put the PCIP program in the health reform bill in an effort to provide a temporary health insurance option for the current uninsured. Early on, PCIP enrollment was much slower than expected. So, the federal government added the broker referral fee in an effort to boost enrollment.
GEHA is now providing PCIP services for 24 states (Note: 27 states are running their own PCIP programs).
According to official reports, PCIP ended 2011 with a total of 48,879 enrollees.
Join the debate about PCIP in the comments section of the Zane Benefits blog.
About Zane Benefits, Inc.
Zane Benefits, Inc, a software company, helps insurance brokers, accountants, and employers take advantage of new defined contribution health benefits and private exchanges via its proprietary SaaS online health benefits software. Zane Benefits does not sell insurance. Using Zane’s platform, insurance professionals and accountants offer their clients a defined contribution health plan with multiple individual health insurance options via a private health exchange of their choice.
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