The Affordable Care Act appropriated $5 billion to create the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) program, which provides insurance for such individuals until new protections take effect in 2014. 27 states opted to run their own PCIPs, while 23 states and the District of Columbia opted to let the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) run the PCIPs for their residents. Through their study "Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans: Program Features, Early Enrollment and Spending Trends, and Federal Oversight Activities," the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined 1) PCIP features, premiums, and criteria for demonstrating a pre-existing condition, 2) trends in PCIP enrollment and spending, including administrative costs, and 3) federal oversight activities. The GAO found that state and federally run PCIPs generally had similar cost sharing arrangements. Coverage limits were common but varied, both in terms of the benefits affected and the extent of the limits. Monthly premiums ranged considerably and were generally higher in the federally run PCIP. Enrollment and spending for state and federally run PCIPs have been significantly lower than initial projections. Spending was also lower than anticipated.