Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., introduced legislation Wednesday that would let more people enroll in short-term health insurance plans, an idea that builds off a Trump administration proposal issued last month.
The Improving Choices in Health Care Coverage Act would allow people to stay on less expensive, short-term medical plans for as long as 364 days and allow them to renew for subsequent years.
“We should discuss actually giving people more freedom, more flexibility to choose a health care plan that is right for them. I’m introducing a bill today to do just that,” Barrasso said on the Senate floor of his legislation.
The short-term plans offer fewer medical services than Obamacare plans that are bought in the exchanges, meaning that they can exclude mental health or maternity services. They also can deny coverage to a person with a pre-existing illness or charge them more. Critics have said healthier people will leave the Obamacare exchanges in favor of these plans and have warned that they will offer inadequate protection for consumers.
The Trump administration has issued a proposal to allow people to remain on short-term plans for as long as 364 days, arguing that Obamacare customers face premiums that are too high and need other options.
People were allowed to purchase these plans for longer periods until April 2016, when the Obama administration limited them for three months as a way to bring more people into the Obamacare exchanges.
Barrasso’s bill goes further than the Trump administration’s planned actions because it would allow a change the law, which would limit future administrative actions. It would guarantee that the plans can be renewed, which means that people could automatically stay in their plan without reapplying and wouldn’t be dropped from coverage after getting sick.
“By building on the Trump administration action, Congress has an opportunity to truly expand health care choice and affordability,” Barrasso said in a statement. “These less expensive health plans are free from Obamacare’s burdensome mandates, and are an important option for many Americans priced out of the one-size-fits-all plans offered today. It gives them the freedom to choose the coverage that works best for them.”
Barrasso is urging for the bill’s passage as part of a long-term spending bill expected this month.
