Sens. Carper, Coons urge Biden administration to limit junk health plans that undermine standards of Affordable Care Act

Press Release

Yesterday, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined 38 of their Senate colleagues in writing a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the Biden administration to limit the sale and availability of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) plans, also known as "junk plans" because of their failure to provide adequate, comprehensive health insurance coverage.

In 2018, in an effort to sabotage the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Trump administration made junk plans more widely available to consumers. Since then, the plans have continued to proliferate even though they are not required to adhere to important standards, including prohibitions on discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions, coverage for the 10 essential health benefit (EHB) categories, and annual out-of-pocket maximums.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable and comprehensive health care coverage. In order to strengthen that commitment, HHS must act quickly to limit the proliferation and promotion of STLDI plans, and undue the sabotage caused by the previous administration," said the senators.

During the last open enrollment period, over 32,000 Delawareans enrolled for health insurance on the exchanges set up by the Affordable Care Act, an increase of more than 25% from the previous year. This record reflects the success of the American Rescue Plan, which improved and expanded access to premium assistance on the marketplace.

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