{"id":9787,"date":"2024-03-28T18:03:41","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T19:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=9787"},"modified":"2024-03-28T20:03:25","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T20:03:25","slug":"march-healthcare-highlight-new-biden-rule-restricts-insurance-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=9787","title":{"rendered":"March Healthcare Highlight: New Biden Rule Restricts Insurance Options"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This post originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/new-biden-rule-restricts-insurance-options\/\">https:\/\/will-law.org\/new-biden-rule-restricts-insurance-options\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"et_pb_section et_pb_section_0 et_section_regular\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_row et_pb_row_0\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column_0  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_0  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Biden Administration finalized a rule on March 28<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that will force <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthinsurance.org\/blog\/short-term-health-insurance-limits\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">hundreds of thousands<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of Americans to lose their healthcare coverage, leaving them uninsured until they can enroll in an Obamacare plan that is more than double the cost.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_video et_pb_video_0\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_video_box\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wisconsinites&#039; health coverage at risk\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/HQoZQ2znBXU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_1  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light\">\n<div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines short-term limited duration plans (STLDP) as \u201ca type of health insurance that is designed to fill temporary gaps in coverage when an individual is transitioning from one source of coverage to another.\u201d These plans are exempt from federal health insurance regulations which means they can discriminate based on health status, have exclusions for preexisting conditions, and set yearly and lifetime spending limits. While some consumers need these protections, being exempt allows these plans to be flexible and much more affordable for thousands of Americans who would otherwise have no health coverage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The current federal rules allow for STLDPs to offer up to 12 months of coverage that can be renewed twice for a maximum of 36 months of continuous coverage. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthinsurance.org\/short-term-health-insurance\/wisconsin\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Wisconsin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, initial plans can also be up to 12 months, however, they can only be renewed for a maximum of 18 months of continuous coverage. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oci.wi.gov\/Pages\/PressReleases\/20230817STLDPReportRelease.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">a report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI), there were 10,310 people in Wisconsin on an STLDP in 2021, most of whom were between the ages of 55-65 and who reside in the Northeastern and Southeastern regions of the state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When the Affordable Care Act was implemented in 2010, many people used STLDPs as an affordable alternative to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare plans. In Wisconsin, STLDP average monthly premiums <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/oci.wi.gov\/Pages\/PressReleases\/20230817STLDPReportRelease.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">were $157<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 2021. That same year, the average monthly premium for the lowest-cost bronze plan in Wisconsin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kff.org\/affordable-care-act\/state-indicator\/average-marketplace-premiums-by-metal-tier\/?currentTimeframe=3&amp;sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">was $338<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2014making them less than half the cost.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In response to people choosing short-term plans, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/government-seeks-limits-on-short-term-health-policies-1465403932\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Obama Administration restricted STLDP\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to a maximum coverage of three months with no renewals, effectively forcing people to pick ACA plans that were more expensive. The Trump Administration reversed this and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/trump-administration-loosens-restrictions-on-short-term-health-plans\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">allowed coverage up to three years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in 2018. This has now been reversed once again. The new rule will take affect 75 days after the finalization on June 11<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Restricting STLDPs not only forces people on to higher cost plans, but it also leaves them uninsured for up to eight months. There is a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthcare.gov\/quick-guide\/dates-and-deadlines\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">slim open enrollment period<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for ACA coverage between November 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and January 15<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Say you find yourself in need of a new coverage plan on February 1st. You could apply for an STLDP and start coverage right away for four months, losing your coverage by June 1st. Then you would have to wait to apply for an ACA plan that would not start until January or February of the following year\u2014leaving you completely vulnerable until then. For example, Jeanne Balvin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/gao-report-neglects-mention-cruelty-limiting-short-term-plans\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">faced 97,000 in medical bills<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> after her short-term plan expired in June of 2017.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a clearly harmful policy for Americans who may find themselves needing coverage outside of the ACA enrollment window, so how is this being justified?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2022-06\/57962-health-insurance-subsidies.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">administration claims<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that getting more people on the insurance marketplace by restricting STDLPs will lower gross monthly premiums by 0.5% and reduce federal spending by $120 million per year. However, the cost of the program is not actually reduced by that amount. Rather, it will be covered by higher premiums for the healthier individuals forced onto the marketplace instead of the federal government taxing or borrowing that amount.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Short-term plans are often painted as \u201cjunk\u201d plans because they do not have to provide comprehensive coverage for clients with preexisting conditions, and many may pick these plans without fully understanding the risks. The administration claims that this rule will <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/FR-2023-07-12\/pdf\/2023-14238.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">more clearly distinguish<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> STLDPs and Obamacare plans. But rather than implement rules to ensure that all necessary information is shared, they are taking away an option that can and does work for hundreds of thousands of people.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Truthfully, many STLDPs compete with Obamacare plans, and they don\u2019t want people to pick another option. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbo.gov\/system\/files\/2019-01\/54915-New_Rules_for_AHPs_STPs.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">95 percent of short-term plans<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> are a \u201ccomprehensive major medical policy that, at a minimum, covers high\u2010 cost medical events and various services, including those provided by physicians and hospitals\u201d under the current rules. Additionally, the OCI report found that \u201cnearly all STLDPs cover prescription drugs and cancer treatment\u201d in Wisconsin. It is important that people understand the plan and benefits they sign up for, but people should be able to pick the best coverage for them at a price they can afford.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">STLDPs have served as a flexible and affordable option for individuals transitioning between health insurance plans, and the new rule will have far-reaching and potentially harmful consequences. Ultimately, healthcare policy should prioritize affordability, accessibility, and informed choice, ensuring that individuals can select the coverage that best meets their needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\/new-biden-rule-restricts-insurance-options\/\">March Healthcare Highlight: New Biden Rule Restricts Insurance Options<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/will-law.org\">Wisconsin Institute for Law &amp; Liberty<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post originally appeared at https:\/\/will-law.org\/new-biden-rule-restricts-insurance-options\/ The Biden Administration finalized a rule on March 28th&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":2296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9787"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9788,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9787\/revisions\/9788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}