skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Health-Care Advocates Oppose Expansion of "Short-Term" Plans

play audio
Play

Thursday, August 2, 2018   

CONCORD, N.H. — A new health insurance rule is being called another blow to people with pre-existing conditions. On Wednesday, the Trump administration released a new rule that allows insurance companies to expand the sale of short-term insurance plans that don't cover the health benefits deemed "essential" by the Affordable Care Act.

Cheryl Fish-Parcham, director of access initiatives with the group Families USA, said the plans, originally restricted to just three months of coverage, will be expanded to one day short of a year, with options for renewal. She added the fine print is loaded with exclusions.

"People have bought plans like this in the past and then found out that they literally covered nothing for the condition that they thought they were covered for,” Fish-Parcham said.

The administration has said expanding the availability of short-term plans will give consumers more options for purchasing health insurance. The rule will go into effect in October.

But Fish-Parcham said allowing insurers to deny coverage for things like prenatal care, mental health and pre-existing conditions will potentially short-change those who buy the plans, while raising premium costs for everyone else.

"It can lead to medical bankruptcies, it can lead to market instability,” she said. “Consumers will doubtless be very confused when they look at these policies and don't understand what they are."

She said the rule will also allow insurers to cancel policies retroactively for a pre-existing condition, even if people didn't know they had that condition at the time they signed up.

Fish-Parcham noted the rule change was opposed by almost all healthcare provider and consumer groups.

"Hospitals and clinics are very concerned about the rise in uncompensated care that they might face,” Fish-Parcham said. “People buy these plans and then they don't cover the person's hospitalization. That's a problem both for the consumer and for the hospital."

She said it will be up to states to protect consumers from what critics are calling "junk" healthcare plans.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021