Many of this week's biggest political headlines revolve around Donald Trump's numerous scandals, the former president's ugly grievances, and the Republican Party's failure to expose controversies related to President Joe Biden.
But all the while, the Democratic administration is slowly but surely continuing to focus on good governance in ways that actually help people. The Associated Press reported:
President Joe Biden announced new measures Thursday to protect consumers who buy short-term health insurance plans that critics say amount to junk. New rules finalized by the Democratic presidential administration would limit such programs to just three months. And the plan can be renewed for up to four months, rather than the three-year maximum allowed under Biden's Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
The same Associated Press report added that the Democratic administration “also wants a short-term plan that provides consumers with clear explanations about benefit limits.”
Neera Tanden, Biden's domestic policy adviser, told reporters: “The president doesn't want Americans to be fooled, and he truly believes that junk insurance is going to fool Americans.” Ta.
This may seem a little confusing to those who don't follow every ins and out of federal health policy making, but I've been interested in this for a long time because it's important to many consumers. Ta.
Revisiting our previous coverage, Donald Trump failed spectacularly in his attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but the former president launched a variety of initiatives aimed at weakening the system during his time in office. were able to take significant action (mostly without Congress).
Near the top of the list was the Republican administration's 2018 decision to expand access to so-called “short-term” health insurance plans, which some have derided as “junk” insurance.
Indeed, the ACA was designed to include such plans, but they were only to serve as stopgap coverage for a few months. The Trump administration changed the rules, opening the door to insurers offering “short-term” plans that are essentially available for three years.
To some consumers, this may have seemed like a good deal. After all, these plans have allowed people to get much cheaper insurance. But this approach had serious flaws and was largely ignored by the Republican White House.
First, these plans tended to be pretty terrible. We're talking about poor coverage that has left many Americans with high medical bills, and it's clear why. The core safeguards and consumer protections of Obamacare did not apply to these plans.
Second, people with pre-existing conditions typically cannot even purchase these plans.
And third, none of this brought any benefit to the health system as a whole. The more younger, healthier people are encouraged to move to lower-cost, lower-coverage plans, the greater the cost pressures for everyone else.
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Said The Trump administration's strategy had “the potential to harm patients.” The Republican president and his team did it anyway.
Now, Biden and his team are undoing that work, imposing new limits on temporary plans and calling for improved disclosures about the limited benefits available through these plans.
I wouldn't be surprised if the next Republican administration, if it exists at all, tries to reverse these developments, but for now, whether it's on the front page or not, it's good news for consumers.
This post will update our latest information Related previous coverage.
