CMS Proposes Rule to Extend Short-Term Health Plans

February 2018 ~

The Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury (collectively referred to as the Departments or tri-agencies) have proposed a new rule that, if passed, would allow insurers to offer short-term Exchange plans that last up to 12 months.

The proposal comes in response to the President’s October 2017 Executive Order in which the Departments were directed to allow short-term plans to be sold for longer periods and to be renewed by consumers.

The Departments say their proposal, if passed, will increase competition, choice, and access to lower-cost healthcare options by expanding the availability of short-term, limited-duration health insurance and allowing consumers to buy plans providing coverage with a maximum duration of three months to “less than 12 months” (versus the current maximum period of less than three months).

“Today’s announcement is about giving Americans who have been priced out of the market new, more affordable coverage options and allowing them, not the government, to make decisions about what works best for them and their families,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a press conference. “While in the past these plans have been a bridge, now they could be a lifeline.”

“Americans who find themselves between jobs or simply can’t afford coverage because prices are too high will be helped by President Trump’s Healthcare for All Executive Order,” Continued Verma. “In a market that is experiencing double-digit rate increases, allowing short-term, limited-duration insurance to cover longer periods gives Americans options and could be the difference between someone getting coverage or going without coverage at all.”

For more information on the proposed rule, see the CMS Fact Sheet: Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance Proposed Rule.

To see the proposal’s full text, see the Proposed Rule on the Federal Register: Short-Term, Limited-Duration Insurance.

 

Source(s): CMS; Federal Register; Modern Healthcare; HealthPayerIntelligence; HealthAffairs;

 

 

 

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