Menendez, Booker Urge Trump Administration to Protect Health Coverage for People With Preexisting Conditions

NEWARK, New Jersey, Oct. 3 -- Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, issued the following news release:

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- Call on HHS, CMS to limit push of 'junk' health insurance plans that cover less and cost more

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U.S. Senators Bob Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets national health policy, and Cory Booker today joined 38 other senators in urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to protect individuals with preexisting conditions by limiting the proliferation of "junk plans" - short-term insurance plans that can exclude coverage for essential benefits and provide no protections for Americans with preexisting conditions.

"We have heard from patients, physicians, independent experts, and other health care stakeholders that individuals with preexisting conditions are being negatively impacted by your Administration's actions. More recently, we have seen the real world negative impact on individuals who have unknowingly enrolled in these deceptively marketed junk plans," wrote the senators in a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CMS Administrator Seema Verma. "Just this month, Bloomberg reported Arizona resident David Diaz unknowingly purchased a short-term health plan that did not cover preexisting conditions and placed ambiguous limits on emergency room care and other essential health care services. His family has been left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt. The Washington Post similarly reported on Jesse Lynn, who purchased a short-term health plan not realizing his back problem would be considered a preexisting condition. Jesse's insurance company refused to cover his care - forcing his family into bankruptcy."

They continued, "The Administration's rule on state waivers allows taxpayer dollars to go to these junk plans, accelerating the problems we are already seeing with junk plans and leaving fewer resources for people who purchase high quality insurance. Additionally, the Administration's new rule weakens coverage by allowing waivers that increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for those who need health care most. We have worked tirelessly to protect individuals with preexisting conditions from barriers to coverage. We urge you to do the same, including by limiting the proliferation of short-term junk plans and ensuring that consumers in every state are protected by federal consumer protections for people with preexisting conditions."

The Trump Administration recently issued a rule that allows states to ignore federal consumer protections and use taxpayer dollars to subsidize junk insurance plans that cover less and cost more. These junk plans can exclude coverage of essential benefits like prescription drugs, emergency room visits, maternity care, or mental health care. Additionally, under this rule, states can give insurance companies the green light to discriminate against Americans with preexisting conditions by increasing costs, limiting coverage, or denying coverage altogether.

In their letter, the senators urged Secretary Azar and Administrator Verma to limit the spread of short-term junk plans and safeguard Affordable Care Act (ACA) protections that increase access to affordable and comprehensive health insurance, and forbid insurance companies from discriminating against individuals with preexisting conditions.

Joining Sens. Menendez and Booker in writing this letter are Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-Pa.), Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Joe Manchin III (D-W.V.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Text of the letter can be found below and downloaded here: https://www.scribd.com/document/428488106/Signed-Pre-ex-Letter

October 3, 2019

To: The Honorable Alex Azar, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20201; The Honorable Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244

Dear Secretary Azar and Administrator Verma:

We write to express our concern with the Administration's repeated efforts to weaken protections for Americans with preexisting conditions and increase costs for millions, including through a new rule which allows for harmful waivers that weaken protections for vulnerable populations and exacerbate the damage already being caused by the expansion of short-term, limited-duration insurance, or "junk" plans. We have heard from patients, physicians, independent experts, and other health care stakeholders that individuals with preexisting conditions are being negatively impacted by your Administration's actions. More recently, we have seen the real world negative impact on individuals who have unknowingly enrolled in these deceptively marketed junk plans.

We have heard directly from individuals with preexisting conditions and other Americans who are being negatively impacted by junk plans. Just this month, Bloomberg reported Arizona resident David Diaz unknowingly purchased a short-term health plan that did not cover preexisting conditions and placed ambiguous limits on emergency room care and other essential health care services. His family has been left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt. The Washington Post similarly reported on Jesse Lynn, who purchased a short-term health plan not realizing his back problem would be considered a preexisting condition. Jesse's insurance company refused to cover his care - forcing his family into bankruptcy. No family should be forced into bankruptcy because of a preexisting medical condition or obscure coverage limits on care.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) established clear protections to prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against individuals with preexisting conditions, and ensure that more Americans have access to affordable and comprehensive health insurance. The junk plans your Administration has sought to expand and promote provide none of these protections and can legally increase premiums, exclude benefits, and deny coverage altogether to individuals with preexisting conditions. These plans place arbitrary coverage limits and many don't cover essential health benefits, such as mental health care and maternity care.

The Administration's rule on state waivers allows taxpayer dollars to go to these junk plans, accelerating the problems we are already seeing with junk plans and leaving fewer resources for people who purchase high quality insurance.

Additionally, the Administration's new rule weakens coverage by allowing waivers that increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for those who need health care most.

We have worked tirelessly to protect individuals with preexisting conditions from barriers to coverage. We urge you to do the same, including by limiting the proliferation of short-term junk plans and ensuring that consumers in every state are protected by federal consumer protections for people with preexisting conditions. Thank you and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,