Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

TOPEKA — Kansans with pre-existing conditions who have been unable to purchase affordable health insurance now have another option thanks to the federal health reform law.

State officials are accepting applications for a new federally subsidized high-risk pool that they hope to have up and running by September. Limits on premiums, co-payments and deductibles made possible by $36 million in federal funding are expected to make the new coverage between 10 percent and 50 percent cheaper than that available through the state’s existing high-risk pool.

Both the new Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan and the state high-risk pool will be administered by BMI of Kansas, Inc., Great Bend, under the supervision of the Kansas Health Insurance Association and the Kansas Insurance Department.

The new program is a temporary option for those among the state’s approximately 340,000 uninsured whose employers don’t offer coverage and who have been denied individual policies. It will operate until Jan. 1, 2014, when provisions of the health reform law take effect that require insurance companies to offer coverage to all applicants.

Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said all Kansans with pre-existing conditions who have been without insurance for at least six months are welcome to apply for coverage under the new program. But, she said, if the demand proves to be too great enrollment may have to be limited.

“After the initial offering, the (KHIA) board will determine the necessity of limiting enrollment in order to make sure federal funding is available through 2013,” Praeger said.

Kansans wishing to apply for coverage may call 1-877-505-0511 or visit the KHIA website at www.khiastatepool.com.