Idaho Congressman Fulcher introduces bill extending private, short-term health care coverage

Idaho Republican Congressman Russ Fulcher is hoping to expand the use of private, short-term health insurance.

Fulcher on Thursday announced the introduction of the Removing Insurance Gaps for Health Treatment (RIGHT) Act of 2025, which would extend the maximum allowance for short-term health plans from four months to up to three years.

Short-term, limited-duration insurance, known as STLDI, are private insurance plans designed to cover temporary gaps in health coverage. The plans are sometimes less expensive than plans offered through state health insurance marketplace plans, but do not always cover as many services and are not subject to the same consumer protection regulations as those compliant with the Affordable Care Act.

"Four months is far too short a limit, posing undue stress and uncertainty on Americans who would otherwise be left without coverage," Fulcher said in a press release. "My bill, the RIGHT Act, expands STLDI plans to a full year, with the option to renew for up to three years. This is a practical, no-cost approach that offers families more choice, control, and flexibility to select the healthcare options that work best for them."

Insurers offering short term plans can deny coverage for people with pre-existing conditions or exclude coverage for those conditions, such as cancer or pregnancy, according to a 2025 analysis by the health policy organization KFF. The analysis also found that "the lowest-cost short-term plan premium for a 40-year-old woman ranges from 6% to 19% higher than the lowest-cost premium for a man." Regulations under the federal Affordable Care Act, or ACA, prohibit these practices for other types of insurance.

Short-term plans are sold in 36 states, including Idaho, according to KFF. Plans may be available for three months, with the ability to renew for a total of four months of coverage.

Federal regulations require short-term insurers to conspicuously notify consumers that the plans are not "comprehensive coverage." These regulations were crafted in response to misleading marketing and deceptive sales tactics, KFF said.

The Idaho Department of Insurance in 2019 issued two notices regarding short-term health plans: one warned Idahoans of robocall scams that come "from telemarketing centers and give incomplete information, trying to pass off very limited coverage as comprehensive health insurance," and the other was a cease and desist letter to a short-term health care insurer soliciting in Idaho that was not licensed to do so.

The KFF analysis found that the lowest cost short-term plans could cost two-thirds or less than the lowest-cost, unsubsidized Bronze plans sold on the ACA marketplace in the same area. However, the analysis found that the federal premium tax credits, which subsidize marketplace health insurance premium costs, resulted in similarly priced or some cheaper marketplace plans.

Fulcher introduced the health care bill the same month the enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire, which may cause significant increases in health insurance costs for some.

In Idaho, the enhanced credits reduced average monthly premiums by more than $400, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

The enhanced credits are set to expire at the end of December without congressional action.