July 7, 2023
The US government is cracking down on what it considers “junk health insurance plans” and on health care companies trying to skirt the law and surprise you with outrageous bills and fees.
The President announced these proposed rules today and they include.
Cutting short the amount of time you can have these so-called short-term health insurance plans which can sometimes be less expensive but could – surprise — leave you without coverage. Sometimes people purchase this type of insurance when they transition between employers. Under regular affordable care act health insurance rules – companies are required to cover pre-existing conditions. But that isn’t the case for some of these short-term plans and people have been burned thinking they’re covered when in fact, they aren’t. The trump administration extended the amount of time you could be sold these short term plans up to 3 years. Today, the Biden Administration is proposing cutting that time to just 3 or four months. If you currently have one of these plans and this rule is finalized, you will be able to stay on the plan until its expiration and then you’ll be rolled into these new rules.
The proposal also mandates the companies offering plans that cover you if you lose your income source must be super clear about how much your daily benefit would be if you get sick. For example, they’ve gotta say – if you buy this supplemental plan and you get sick and can’t work, you’ll get $100 bucks per day during your illness.
And most importantly, the proposal says all plans must clearly disclose the limits of the benefits in the plan you’re buying.
When it comes to surprise medical costs – the President is proposing ending what he calls “abuse” of the in-network designation. If you’ve had to go to a hospital you know – even if the hospital is in your network and covered by your health insurance – you may still get a bill because your insurance company says – well the doctor treating you in that hospital wasn’t in network. The President’s new proposed rule says – health care services provided by these hospital providers are either out-of-network and subject to the surprise billing protections or they are in-network and subject to the Affordable Care Act’s annual limitation on cost-sharing.
And if you’ve been hit with a “facility fee” at your doctor’s office, the administration says your health plan and your provider must now disclose all those fees publicly and make them available to you so you are not surprised with a bill after you are treated.
Read more about the President’s plan here.
