Trump proposes 12-month insurance plans that don't cover people, issues Obamacare requires

Jayne O'Donnell | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump's health insurance actions could end in a 'death spiral' Trump's actions to modify the Obamacare insurance marketplace could result in higher prices and fewer insurers. Video provided by Newsy

The Trump administration proposed Tuesday that people be allowed to buy short-term insurance plans that don't cover the benefits — or people — required to be covered by the Affordable Care Act (ACA),

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the rule would help people who have been struggling with high premiums of plans many see as overly generous. Some women who are no longer of child bearing age, for example, say they shouldn't have to buy insurance that covers birth control and maternity care.

“Americans need more choices in health insurance so they can find coverage that meets their needs,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. “The status quo is failing too many Americans who face skyrocketing costs and fewer and fewer choices."

The insurance industry and pro-ACA groups were quick to caution about the downsides, however. The ACA was designed to prevent some of the situations the new plans would create, critics said. And the plans could deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, generally cover few benefits and can cap the value of the benefits provided,

The plans could also pull more healthy people out of the pool of people signing up for the ACA, and that could lead to higher premiums for those who remain and aren't eligible for subsidies.

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"While these exemptions make these policies inexpensive, they also create plans with potentially inadequate coverage," Chris Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said in a statement. "Short-term plans are meant to be a bridge, not a substitute, for long-term meaningful coverage. Permitting plans to be renewed indefinitely would likely result in more people struggling with unexpected health care bills and insufficient insurance.

Calling it a proposal to offer "junk plans," Brad Woodhouse, campaign director of the pro-ACA group Protect Our Care, accused the White House of being "health care sabotagers."

The Center for American Progress' Sam Berger, noted the government "shouldn't be in the business of providing worse care. " The Trump administration should work to "reduce the cost of high quality care," rather than repealing ACA provisions that encourage doctors and hospitals to cut costs, Berger said.

The trade group America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) said it was still reviewing the proposal, but spokeswoman Kristine Grow said members "remain concerned that expanded use of short-term policies could further fragment the individual market, which would lead to higher premiums for many consumers, particularly those with pre-existing conditions."

Protect Our Care also announced it is launching a new national advertising and organizing campaign, dubbed "Enough is Enough," with the the Save My Care Campaign. The advertising campaign will call on Congress "to end the partisan war on health care."

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