Rauner Veto Preserves Consumer Protections in Short-Term Plans, Improves ObamaCare ' s Risk Pools

Hours ago, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R)vetoedlegislation that would have subjected enrollees in short-term health insurance  plans to higher deductibles, higher administrative costs, higher premiums, and lost coverage. The vetoed bill would have blocked the consumer protections made available in that market bya final rule issued earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and would have (further) jeopardized ObamaCare ’s risk pools by forcing even more sick patients into those pools.Short-term plans are exempt from federal health insurance regulations, and as a result offerbroader access to providers at a cost that is often70 percent less than ObamaCare plans.Rather than allow open competition between those two ways of providing health-insurance protection, the Obama administration sabatoged  short-term plans. It forced short-term plan deductibles to reset after three months, and forced consumers in those plans to reenroll every three months, changes that increased administrative costs in that market.The Obama administration further subjected short-term plan enrollees to medical underwritingafter  they fell ill – which meant higher premiums and cancelled coverage for the sick. Prior to the Obama rule, a consumer who purchased a short-term plan in January and developed cancer in February would have coverage until the end of December, at which point she could enroll in an ObamaCare plan. The National Ass ociation of Insurance Commissioners...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs