While the Trump administration has rolled out a plan to make available short-term health insurance policies, up from the current 90 days to 12 months in duration, some states have already said they don’t want any part of it.
Since the plans don’t have to include all the essential health benefits (EHBs) of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or Obamacare), these states have already labeled them as “junk insurance.” (EHBs include maternity care, drug abuse recovery and other benefits that not everyone needs.)
According to a report in governing.com: “The Connecticut Department of Insurance determined last week that its state laws prohibit short-term plans. Hawaii and Maryland recently passed laws that severely limit their use, and Washington state’s insurance commissioner is reportedly in the process of rewriting rules to do the same. California’s legislature is considering an outright ban.”
Another plan by the administration to make health insurance more affordable — Association Health Plans (AHPs) — is also running into resistance by (mostly blue) states, as 12 attorneys general have filed suit against the plan, which relies upon a redefinition of “employer” in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule in June that expanded the definition to enable the formation of AHPs across state lines and include even the self-employed.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit to be argued in a East Texas federal court beginning Sept. 10 will determine if the ACA’s individual mandate is constitutional, or more broadly, if the ACA itself is constitutional.