Two-thirds of people don’t believe the short-term healthcare plans touted by the Trump administration and Republicans as an alternative to Obamacare should be allowed if they lead to higher rates for sick people, according to a new poll that shows public skepticism of Trump’s latest Obamacare overhaul initiative.
The poll, released Thursday by the liberal-leaning think tank Urban Institute, reveals the public’s feelings on cheaper but less comprehensive health plans. People are generally favorably disposed to the idea of cheaper plans with fewer benefits, with almost seven in 10 people in a new poll supporting the concept, but that approval melts away when it’s suggested that the plans don’t provide Obamacare’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
“Although people are willing to accept less coverage in exchange for lower premiums, strong majorities of adults reject proposals to allow medically underwritten plans that discriminate against people with preexisting conditions,” said Urban researcher Michael Karpman in a statement.
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The Trump administration recently extended the duration of the short-term plans from 90 days to 12 months to encourage their use as an alternative to Obamacare. The plans are cheaper than the ones sold on Obamacare’s exchanges because they do not have to cover essential benefits or provide coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
The poll found overwhelming support for those two requirements: 84 percent favor requiring insurers to cover pre-existing conditions, and 73 percent believe insurers shouldn’t charge sicker people higher rates.
Critics say the expansion of cheaper, short-term plans will destabilize Obamacare’s insurance exchanges because younger and healthier people will leave the exchanges for the cheaper plans, causing premiums to rise for sick people who need more robust coverage. They argue that it’s part of a larger administration effort to undermine Obamacare.
Urban’s research has previously said that expanding short-term plans and getting rid of the individual mandate penalty in 2019 will boost Obamacare plan premiums by 18.3 percent in states that don’t restrict short-term plan use.
The Trump administration contends that the push to expand short-term plans give people an alternative to Obamacare, which has been plagued by price hikes in recent years.
The poll had 4,881 respondents and did not list a margin of error.
