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Short-term, limited-duration insurance and risks to California's insurance market
Short-term, limited-duration insurance and risks to California's insurance market
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Issue brief (California HealthCare Foundation)
- Author(s):
- Palanker, Dania, author
Lucia, Kevin, author
Volk, JoAnn, author
Schwab, Rachel, author - Contributor(s):
- California HealthCare Foundation, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Oakland, Calif.] : California Health Care Foundation, April 2018
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Health Insurance Exchanges
Insurance, Health
California
United States
United States. - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- California has made dramatic progress in expanding insurance coverage through the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But the expansion of short-term, limited-duration insurance could put California's consumers--and the stability of its individual health insurance market--at risk. This paper provides an overview of the short-term insurance market in California, analysis of how changes to federal policy are likely to affect it, and policy options the state could pursue to ensure that consumers are able to purchase affordable, comprehensive insurance. Short-term, limited-duration insurance (short-term plans or short-term insurance) is a health insurance product designed to provide insurance that protects consumers during short gaps in full coverage. Under federal law, these products do not need to comply with the consumer protections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Short-term insurers can deny coverage based on a person's preexisting health conditions or other factors. Short-term insurance typically covers a limited set of services and has dollar limits on claims the plan will pay. Combined with the elimination of the individual mandate penalty, recently proposed changes to federal regulation of short-term plans could expand enrollment in--and encourage new insurers to enter--the short-term insurance market. Insurers may promote products designed to be a cheaper alternative to comprehensive individual-market plans that comply with the ACA's consumer protections and benefit requirements (plans that are ACA-compliant). Since premiums are lower for short-term plans due their limited benefits and the ability to deny coverage to people with preexisting conditions, healthy people could be siphoned out of the individual market risk pool, including Covered California. As a result, consumers looking for comprehensive coverage may find themselves facing significantly higher premiums and fewer choices in the ACA-compliant market.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (9 pages)).
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101744394 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101744394