Do You Support Expanding Short-Term Non-Obamacare Plans?

What’s the story?

• A federal judge has upheld the Trump administration’s plans to expand the sale of short-term health insurance policies that don’t meet Obamacare coverage requirements.
• The Trump administration issued a regulation in early 2018 that would permit people to purchase short-term plans for up to a year, rather than the three months previously allowed. Unlike Obamacare policies, these plans aren’t required to cover pre-existing conditions and "essential health benefits" such as maternity care, mental health care, or addiction treatment.
• U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled against the insurance companies’ challengers’ claims that the short-term policies unlawfully undermine the Affordable Care Act.

"Not only is any potential negative impact from the 2018 rule minimal, but its benefits are undeniable," Leon wrote about the regulations in his 40-page ruling.

• Leon added that there’s no evidence the rule “is having or will have the type of impact - substantial exodus from the individual market exchanges - that would threaten the ACA’s structural core.”
• "We remain firm in our contention that the Trump administration’s decision to expand dramatically the sale of junk insurance violates the Affordable Care Act and is arbitrary and capricious," said Margaret Murray, chief executive officer of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), the plaintiff in the case. “We are confident that the appellate court will see this differently.”
• "Americans need more choices in health insurance so they can find coverage that meets their needs," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said when first announcing the plans in February 2018. “The status quo is failing too many Americans who face skyrocketing costs and fewer and fewer choices.”

What do you think?

Do you support expanding the availability of low-cost, low-coverage health insurance? Or do you agree with the Democrats who’ve branded it a return to "junk insurance"? Hit Take Action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStock / gorodenkoff)