The Biden administration plans to roll back short-term health insurance, the centerpiece of former President Donald Trump’s health care policy.
Short-term health insurance plans offer limited benefits and lower monthly premiums, but they don’t cover pre-existing medical conditions.
Under new rules finalized last week, the Biden administration will shorten the length of short-term health insurance plans to three months with a one-month renewal option. Businesses selling short-term plans must also provide consumers with a disclaimer detailing the limits and amounts of services covered by the plan. The rule reverses a 2018 Trump administration policy that allowed consumers to continue short-term plans for up to three years.
These plans are intended to provide a short-term option for consumers without employer or other insurance, but experts say these plans offer limited coverage and leave consumers without insurance. It warns that you may be left with unpaid medical bills.White House referred to these plans The fact sheet says the new rules will prevent Americans from being “deceived into poor-quality insurance that could cost consumers thousands of dollars in medical bills” or be denied coverage. He pointed out that. Care.
Short-term plans do not offer the same protections as Affordable Care Act plans, which require insurance companies to cover a range of standard benefits such as emergency, maternity, and mental health care. Also, unlike short-term plans, Obamacare plans cannot deny coverage based on a person’s prior medical conditions.
Biden’s new rulesThe policy, which goes into effect June 17, is a return to an Obama administration policy that limited short-term plan sales to 90 days as a stopgap while a more robust plan was in place.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the rule “helps consumers make informed choices and avoid accidentally paying for junk insurance plans that don’t provide the coverage and protection they expect. We’re cracking down on it,” he said.
Sabrina Corlett, founder and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reform at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, said the policy aims to combine short-term plans with stronger coverage provided through the Affordable Care Act. He said the aim is to let consumers know the difference.
“This is a clear repudiation of the Trump administration’s policies regarding short-term planning,” Corlett said.
Biden touts health agenda
The limits on short-term insurance plans come as the Biden administration works to strengthen federal and state markets in the Affordable Care Act, which saw record enrollment this year with more than 21 million people enrolling. Ta. Although most working-age people obtain health insurance through their employers, older, low-income, and disabled Americans often receive insurance through the government health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid. Masu.
Also this week, Biden and his 2020 rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, teamed up to tout lower prescription drug costs for older Americans through legislation and the bully pulpit. Biden’s Inflation Control Act would allow Medicare to negotiate prices on some prescription drugs, cap insulin costs for Medicare enrollees at $35 a month, and limit co-pays for some doctor-administered drugs. There is.
Sanders, an independent, has summoned drug company executives to appear before a Senate committee he chairs to defend drug prices. The president praised the Vermont senator’s tenacious efforts on behalf of patients.
In an appearance Wednesday, Biden spoke about efforts to rein in prescription drug spending, saying, “With Bernie’s help, we’re showing that health care should be a right in America, not a privilege.”
Short-term plans popular with contractors and gig workers
Proponents of short-term plans argue that they provide healthy adults with a choice of health insurance at a more affordable price.
Ronnell Nolan, CEO of Health Agents for America, a trade group representing independent health insurance agents, said he would limit short-term plans to three months, with an option to add an additional four months. He said this means consumers will have fewer choices when purchasing health insurance.
“Every American has the right to make their own choices about what products work for them,” said Nolan, a Louisiana insurance agent.
Brian Blades, a former White House adviser in the Trump administration, said shortening the duration of short-term plans will cause headaches for middle-class Americans who rely on this type of insurance. He said the plans are popular with cost-conscious consumers, such as independent contractors and gig workers who earn too much to qualify for ACA subsidies and cannot get coverage through their employers.
“People are spending their own money on these programs,” said Blais, now director of the Paragon Health Institute, a health policy think tank. “Short-term plans are not subsidized, so people have an incentive to see if the plan is providing value to them.”
Blaise predicted the new rules would substantially increase the number of uninsured Americans. The Biden administration has touted efforts to reduce the nation’s uninsured rate, in part through pandemic-era policies. provided more generous subsidies For those enrolled in ACA plans.
In 2020, the House Energy and Commerce Committee estimated that approx. 3 million people The commission’s report, which examined eight short-term health plans, found that these insurers limit coverage for patients’ pre-existing conditions and spend 48 percent of their premiums on medical claims. In contrast, ACA individual plans must spend at least 80% of their premiums on medical claims.
Georgetown’s Corlett noted that short-term plans will remain available for purchase under the Biden administration. But he said the safeguards mean that plans will no longer be “mistakenly marketed as ACA-compliant comprehensive insurance plans.”
Ken Alltucker can be reached at @kalltucker on X (formerly Twitter) or emailed at alltuck@usatoday.com..
