Proposed Federal Changes to Short-Term Health Coverage Leave Regulation to States
<p>The Trump administration is expected to reverse federal limitations on short-term insurance, which does not have to comply with Affordable Care Act market rules like preexisting condition protections. In a new <em>To the Point </em>post, Georgetown University researchers explain that an upcoming proposed rule will likely rescind existing restrictions on short-term plans that were put in place to prevent insurers from siphoning off healthy enrollees from the individual marketplace.</p><p>If these changes are finalized, oversight of short-term insurance policies will be left almost entirely to states, many of which currently have few standards in place. To better understand the regulatory landscape, the authors surveyed 10 states’ legal authority over these products and interviewed regulators.</p>
<p>“States can increase consumer protections of short-term plans in several ways,” the authors say. “They can ban short-term plans, limit their duration and renewability, increase oversight of the products and their marketing, and make them comply with some or all individual market standards.” </p>