Association for Community Affiliated Plans Issues Statement by CEO Murray on D.C. Appeals Ruling in ACAP Vs. Treasury

WASHINGTON, July 18 -- The Association for Community Affiliated Plans issued the following statement by CEO Margaret A. Murray on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's decision in ACAP vs. Treasury, in which the court upheld regulations allowing for the sale of short-term limited-duration health plans as a substitute for comprehensive health insurance:

"Junk insurance is an inferior and hazardous substitute for comprehensive coverage. The court's decision protects these plans and their harmful practices, placing patients, families, and providers at increased risk amidst a global health emergency.

"So long as junk insurance plans are permitted to compete directly with comprehensive, Affordable Care Act-compliant insurance plans, the health care protections of the ACA--and the consumers who rely on them-- are in jeopardy. This erroneous decision comes just days after new evidence emerged that junk plans are being successfully and aggressively marketed to consumers seeking ACA-compliant plans, just as we allege.

"Now more than ever, people need access to high-quality, comprehensive insurance that gives them peace of mind and guaranteed benefits, not a junk plan that may leave them with nothing more than hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

"As Judge Rogers wrote in dissent, the junk plans rule 'recreat[es] the problems that existed in the American health insurance market before the statute's enactment and that the statute was designed to solve... It is difficult to imagine a starker conflict between a statutory scheme and a rule that purports to administer it.'

"We are disappointed in the court's decision but remain firm in our belief that junk insurance plans violate both the Affordable Care Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

"We're confident the full D.C. Circuit will agree."