We are all familiar with the phrase “big things come in small packages.” For some, a specific provision in the health care reform law is just that.

In a blog post on Wednesday, we examined the impact of one of the better know parts of the health care reform law, which has enabled 2.5 million young adults to be included on their parents’ insurance plans. Today we’re turning our attention to a more obscure part of the law, which has created an insurance option for people who have pre-existing conditions that insurance companies typically won’t cover.

The value of the law’s implementation of a Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) has garnered more attention over the past week – thanks to an op-ed column by a California woman, Spike Dolomite Ward. In her December 6 column in the LA Times, titled “Obamacare to the rescue,” Ms. Ward describes her experience after she recently found out she has breast cancer. Ward had been uninsured, but thanks to reforms to the healthcare system she was able to find coverage through a PCIP program in her state.The Affordable Care Act, passed in March 2010, divides $5 billion among the states for creating or expanding PCIP programs. Thus far, 27 states have created or expanded programs on their own, and 23 have opted to have the federal government take the lead in operating a new program to serve people with pre-existing conditions.

Wisconsin was among the states that already had a similar program, called the Health Insurance Risk Sharing Plan (HIRSP), which has since been expanded to meet the new requirements for PCIP. In Wisconsin, the number of people currently enrolled in the expanded program is relatively small – which is true as well in most other states – but the lifesaving value that it offers to enrollees is huge. This expanded version of HIRSP – formally called HIRSP Federal – currently covers 998 Wisconsin residents, who have gained access to critical and perhaps lifesaving coverage.

Although the number of people enrolled is small, the gift it has provided is huge. Without this option, the battle for coverage by people who are branded with a pre-existing condition has been an insurmountable ordeal for far too many Americans. We are thankful that this provision can offer critically needed health care and peace of mind for the woman in California – and for many Wisconsinites facing similar circumstances.

Lacy Langbecker