Senate Democrats urge White House to rein in ‘junk’ health plans boosted by Trump

Sen. Tammy Baldwin and more than two dozen other Democratic senators called on the Biden administration Wednesday to rein in short-term health plans that don’t follow minimum standards for health coverage set by the federal Affordable Care Act. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin “We must protect those who will be looking for coverage in the near future, and take steps to ensure that these plans are not allowed to further proliferate,” states the letter, led by Baldwin and Sen. Chris Murphy and addressed to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “It is past time for your Department to step up and address the expansion and proliferation of junk plans.” The ACA requires that insurance plans, including those offered on the federal and state health insurance marketplace under the act as well as those provided under employee benefit programs, must limit out-of-pocket costs and must provide a list of essential health benefits, including mental health and substance abuse treatment, prescription drug coverage and maternity care. She authored bills in 2021 to overturn the Trump administration’s expansion of the plans as well as to require stronger regulations “to protect consumers from being misled into enrolling in junk plans that fail to offer comprehensive coverage.” Allowing the short-term, non-compliant plans to continue to grow contrasts with reforms initiated by the Biden administration to expand access to affordable and comprehensive health coverage, the letter states.