Trump health plan change may ease insurance costs for some; critics fear it could weaken Obamacare
The rule expands the use of association health plans, in which small businesses, including self-employed workers, can join forces by geography or industry to get health care coverage as if they were a large employer.
The plans will not be allowed to charge consumers more money or deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
But they won't have to offer all the same benefits as plans bought by individuals on the Obamacare exchange. They won't, for example, have to cover maternity or mental health care, among other services.
Some groups of workers are excited about the expansion of association plans, saying they could be a less expensive option for consumers who've faced rising prices and dwindling options on
On average, insurers in the state increased rates by 16 to 37 percent for the lowest-priced plans on the exchange this year, and in 13
The trade group Illinois Realtors wrote a letter to the secretary of labor supporting the expansion of association plans to self-employed people after it was formally proposed in January. The group represents 48,500 real estate agents in
Those agents continually cite obtaining affordable health care coverage as a high interest area in the group's surveys, spokesman
"These self-employed professionals are forced to purchase health insurance in the more volatile individual insurance market, which tends to offer fewer choices at drastically higher costs," Illinois Realtors President
President
Premiums for association plans could cost
Some experts, however, caution that expansion of association plans could lead to higher prices for those who continue to buy insurance on the Obamacare exchange. They're also concerned that consumers who get association plans won't get broad enough coverage to meet their health needs.
"It will create basically a secondary market where younger and healthier people will get siphoned off and get cheaper premiums and junkier benefits," said
The exchange relies on healthy consumers to help insurers balance out the costs of sicker members. Without those healthier consumers, insurers on the exchange might raise premiums, said
The
A number of congressional
Many have also decried Trump's proposal to allow consumers to use short-term insurance plans for up to a year, up from the current three months they're supposed to last. Like association plans, short-term plans may be cheaper but don't have to cover all the same services as plans on the exchange. Short-term plans were originally meant as a stopgap for consumers between plans.
The
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