Coverage That (Doesn’t) Count: How the Short-Term, Limited Duration Rule Could Lead to Underinsurance
Any day now, the Trump administration is expected to publish new rules that will expand access to short-term, limited duration insurance (STLDI). The proposed rule would allow STLDI plans to extend up to almost a full year, along with other changes that enable consumers to purchase STLDI as an alternative to comprehensive insurance products currently sold on the individual market. STLDI does not have to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) consumer protections, such as the requirement to provide coverage of essential health services or the prohibition against denying coverage to sick people or charging them higher premiums. Recently, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released projections of the impact of the STLDI rule. The federal agency predicted that 2 million people will enroll in STLDI plans once the rule is finalized. They also estimated that less than 500,000 of those people will end up purchasing plans that do not meet the agency’s definition of