Health Insurance That Doesn't Cover the Bills Has Flooded the Market Under Trump, Bloomberg
Last edited Thu Sep 19, 2019, 01:02 PM - Edit history (2)
Mainly discussed in the Bloomberg article are short-term insurance plans, which don't meet ACA standards for comprehensive care, but that were allowed to exist by the Affordable Care Act as short-term (3 month) stop gaps for people between jobs. But the Trump admin has expanded the 3 month maximum to a year (which can be renewed and renewed) and are expected to cover 600,000 people in 2019.
There are other kinds of junk insurance out there that have been allowed to continue to exist, such as association health plans ( http://familiesusa.org/product/association-health-plan-rule-would-make-it-easier-sell-junk-insurance ) and health care sharing ministries like Medi-Share ( https://khn.org/news/sham-sharing-ministries-test-faith-of-patients-and-insurance-regulators/ )
Just a few snips here and there to give a flavor of the Bloomberg article.
... When the Republican-controlled Senate failed in 2017 to pass Trump-backed legislation that would have gutted the ACA, the administration instead seized on the loophole allowing consumers to buy certain noncompliant plans. Trump used an executive order to extend the time limit for temporary plans, ... has widened that loophole by stretching the definition of “short-term” from three months to a year, with the option of renewing for as long as three years.
... Marisia soon learned about the policy’s limitations. The Everest plan didn’t cover preexisting conditions, limited the number of doctor visits, and capped hospital coverage at $1,000 a day. It allowed a maximum of $250 per emergency room visit and $5,000 per surgery, not nearly enough to cover the usual cost of those services. Most benefits didn’t kick in until the $7,500 deductible was met. And the listed maximum total payout of $750,000 was misleading: It didn’t mean the Diazes’ bills would be covered up to that amount after they paid the deductible; it just meant that if Marisia underwent, say, 150 surgeries, she could get $5,000 for each, leaving her to cover millions of dollars in additional bills ((bills for what the surgeries cost above the $5,000 per surgery covered amount -Progree)).
... On June 14, Trump held a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden to announce a new policy that lets employers steer as much as $1,800 in tax-exempt funds to their employees instead of offering them comprehensive health plans. The move will likely create many more customers for HIIQ’s ((junk insurance)) industry. “We’re putting the people back in charge with more choice for better care at a far lower cost—and other people will not be paying for their health care,” Trump said.
More, much more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-09-17/under-trump-health-insurance-with-less-coverage-floods-market
Often, real ACA insurance bought on the exchanges are less expensive, after subsidies, than the junk insurance that junk insurance brokers try to sell (which aren't eligible for subidies), and the brokers of course never mention that.