Sponsor
Andrew S. Biggs
Representative · R-AZ
Representative · R-AZ
Adds a definition treating short-term limited duration insurance as plans under 12 months initially and up to 3 years total including renewals.
The bill expands and clarifies availability and duration of short-term limited-duration health plans—giving cheaper, potentially multi-year temporary coverage and clearer labeling—while increasing the risk that sick and chronically ill people will be underinsured and that marketplace premiums for comprehensive plans will rise.
Uninsured people and those seeking temporary continuity can enroll in renewable short-term limited-duration plans that may be extended up to a 3-year total term, giving them continuity of coverage beyond a single year.
Consumers shopping for temporary coverage get clearer rules because policies that expire in under 12 months are explicitly defined as short-term limited-duration insurance, making it easier to identify and compare short-term products.
People with preexisting conditions and chronic illnesses (and other buyers of short-term plans) may be left underinsured because short-term plans can lack ACA protections like essential health benefits and preexisting-condition protections.
Middle-class families and marketplace enrollees could face higher premiums for ACA-compliant plans if healthier people shift into cheaper short-term plans, worsening risk pools for comprehensive coverage.
Allowing renewals/extensions up to a 3-year total could enable insurers to market multi-year short-term products that effectively avoid ACA rules, increasing the risk that consumers are misled and encounter coverage gaps or inadequate benefits over time.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Official title: To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to provide for a definition of short-term limited duration insurance, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Creates a statutory definition for “short-term limited duration insurance” (STLDI) that treats such a plan as one with an initial contract term under 12 months and an aggregate maximum duration of 3 years when renewals or extensions are included. The change is limited to adding that definition into the Public Health Service Act and contains no funding, deadlines, or other program rules.