One-Month Extension Announced for High-Risk Insurance Plan

The extension provides a one-month reprieve for the program, known as the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.

About 135,000 people have enrolled in the program, which is essentially a high-risk pool sponsored by the federal government.

The program was to end on Dec. 31. Congress had assumed that it would no longer be needed because insurers would be prohibited from denying coverage, or charging higher rates, to people based on their health status or medical history.

Despite improvements in the website for the federal insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, some people say they still have difficulty using it to enroll in health plans. Consumers have also had difficulty using websites for some insurance exchanges run by states.

Aaron Albright, a spokesman at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Thursday, “As part of our efforts to smooth the transition to the marketplaces for those seeking coverage that begins in January, we are taking steps to ensure that Americans enrolled in the federal PCIP insurance plan will not face a lapse when the new year begins.”

A federal health official explained, “We also want to ensure that PCIP enrollees do not experience a lapse in coverage, because many are currently receiving regular treatments for such diseases as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.”

Since Dec. 1, the White House has said repeatedly that the federal website is working well for a vast majority of users.

Extension of the federal program shows the administration’s concern for people in the high-risk pool, and its concern about possible political damage to the administration if hundreds or thousands of sick people suddenly lose coverage. Republicans would almost surely cite such cases as a reason to roll back parts of the Affordable Care Act.

The administration had predicted that up to 400,000 people would enroll in the high-risk pool, created by the 2010 law. In fact, about 135,000 enrolled, but the cost of their claims has far exceeded White House estimates, exhausting most of the $5 billion provided by Congress.

Steve Weiss, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, welcomed the administration’s decision.

“Extending the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan will give tens of thousands of people with a history of cancer or another serious disease the security of knowing they will not face a costly gap in coverage on Jan. 1 if they cannot enroll in a marketplace plan by Dec. 23,” Mr. Weiss said. “Extending coverage under PCIP gives patients valuable additional time to select the marketplace plan that best meets their unique needs.”