Trump Administration Releases Final Short-Term Plan Rule

Today, the Trump Administration announced the final rule that allows the purchase of short-term health plans with incomplete coverage compared to insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

In a statement reacting to the final rule, NHC Chief Executive Officer Marc Boutin, JD, said, “Short-term health plans are simply not an option for anyone with a chronic condition, as they will likely be denied coverage for having a pre-existing condition. Worse, by creating a parallel market of subpar health insurance plans, it is a near-certainty that the costs for comprehensive insurance plans will increase dramatically, putting health care out of reach for many. We now call on state regulators to put a stop to the proliferation of these so-called skinny plans.”

What’s been reported about this ruling:

The Washington Post’s Amy Goldstein wrote an article saying, “the new rules are the second tool the administration has devised lately to foster low-price insurance that circumvents the ACA’s coverage requirements and consumer protections.”  Read the full article.

The Hill’s Jessie Hellmann discussed how this is not the first rule by the Trump Administration to decrease insurance coverage and increase costs for millions of Americans. “The Trump administration last year canceled key Obamacare subsidies for insurers, leading insures to increase premiums substantially. The anticipation of the repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate has also contributed to premium increases. While Obamacare enrollees who receive subsidies are mostly shielded from these increases, those who don’t are left to pay the full price.” Read the full article.

The Washington Examiner’s Robert King reported on how the statistics have changed since the Trump Administration implemented new health insurance rules. “In the first quarter of 2018, there were 14.4 million people who got coverage in the overall individual market, the foundation said. That total is 12 percent lower than the first quarter of 2017, when there were 15.2 million people on the individual market. Of those 14.4 million people in the individual market this year, 10.6 million had coverage through Obamacare exchanges, including 9.2 million receiving federal premium subsidies, Kaiser said. Enrollment is also below where it was in the first quarter of 2015, when 17.4 million people got coverage on and off the exchanges.” Read the full article.