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The Biden administration is limiting the length of short-term health insurance plans.
CNN
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The Biden administration is cutting back on short-term health insurance plans known as “junk insurance” that leave patients grappling with high medical costs.
The rule, proposed last summer as part of a series of measures aimed at lowering health care costs, would limit new sales of these controversial plans to three months, with no renewal option. The government announced that the total period will be up to four months. he said Thursday. The plans are also required to provide consumers with a clearer explanation of benefits, which are typically less generous than Affordable Care Act policies, and inform them how to find more comprehensive coverage.
The move is the latest effort by President Joe Biden to contrast his approach to health care with that of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. President Trump extended the duration of short-term health insurance plans during his administration in an effort to weaken the Affordable Care Act.
“These junk insurance plans misled consumers into thinking they were buying real health insurance,” White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden told reporters. “Then when people need medical care, they find that their plan has limited benefits, that their care is related to a pre-existing condition, or that their care is not covered at all. I understand that.”
“You end up paying huge bills when you need insurance the most. It's not real insurance, it's fraud,” she continued, adding that President Trump's policy changes “really hurt consumers.” he pointed out.
The rule is a major reversal of the previous president's expansion of short-term plans in 2018, which extended the duration of the policy to just under a year and made it renewable for up to 36 months in total. For those currently making short-term plans, there will be no change to your policy.
Short-term plans do not have to comply with Obamacare's consumer protections. For example, they are not required to provide comprehensive insurance and may discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions.
The Trump administration hailed the program as a cheaper alternative to Affordable Care Act policies because benefit limits and a healthier pool of enrollees make short-term plans cheaper.
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act also worry that short-term plans could draw young, healthy people away from Obamacare policies because they are more likely to be attracted to minimalist coverage. That could leave a larger share of older and sicker Americans in marketplace plans, potentially prompting premiums to rise.
The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday released a final rule that standardizes Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (known as CHIP) coverage and renewals to make it easier for families to apply and renew, in addition to short-term health insurance regulations. did. It will be implemented nationwide and will make it easier for eligible children and adults to continue to maintain coverage. It also extended some of the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act to Medicaid and CHIP enrollees, including eliminating annual and lifetime limits on child coverage under CHIP.
Children will no longer be locked out of CHIP insurance if their family cannot pay the premiums, and there will be no waiting period for coverage. This rule also improves a child's transfer from Medicaid and her CHIP if the family's income increases. It also prohibits states from conducting updates more frequently than every 12 months or requiring in-person interviews for seniors and people with disabilities.
The reduction in short-term plans, long expected, is part of the Biden administration's latest efforts to lower health care costs and crack down on surprise junk fees, and to help middle-class and working-class Americans. This is part of the targeted policy.
During his campaign, Mr. Biden has emphasized his different approach to health care costs, including high drug prices.
A record number of more than 21 million people signed up for coverage on the Affordable Care Act exchanges in 2024. The enhanced federal premium subsidies that Congressional Democrats approved shortly after Biden took office in 2021 drew many consumers to Obamacare policies. It expires at the end of next year.
In total, more than 45 million people gained insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, according to the Biden administration.
The president has also focused on efforts to lower drug prices, primarily through the Inflation Control Act, including forcing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time and capping Medicare's monthly insulin costs and annual out-of-pocket drug costs. . Enrolled students.
