AAFP Issues Statement on Proposed Insurance Rule
"The Administration's proposal to allow Americans to buy extended, short-term health insurance is a step back to the days when companies sold low-value insurance policies that subjected our patients to catastrophic medical bills and medical bankruptcy.
"Today's proposed rule would exempt these short-term plans from Affordable Care Act consumer protections such as covering pre-existing conditions or essential benefits, which include prescriptions, laboratory tests, hospitalization and maternity care. It would allow plans to once again establish caps on annual benefits. Limiting benefits can expose patients to extraordinarily high out-of-pocket costs, particularly for people who have chronic or life-threatening conditions that require costly treatment, close monitoring and ongoing medication.
"Equally troublesome, these plans further destabilize the individual market by drawing young, healthy people away from meaningful, comprehensive coverage that meets ACA standards. Allowing the healthy to gamble with low-quality insurance will also raise ACA-compliant plans' premiums, putting better coverage beyond the reach of millions of the sickest Americans.
"The
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