July 6 (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden’s administration is expected on Friday to propose a new regulation regulating short-term health insurance plans, Politico said, citing five Democrats familiar with the matter.
Biden is expected to deliver an announcement about health care cost savings on Friday. A White House official told Politico on Thursday that Biden plans to announce major actions to cut costs and crack down on junk fees.
The regulation will curtail a Trump-era expansion of skimpy health coverage, which critics say undermined the 2010 Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and its broad protections for patients with preexisting conditions, according to Politico.
The Department of Health and Human Services in 2018 expanded the availability of short-term health insurance plans to millions of Americans in another move by the Trump administration to ease Obamacare requirements.
Those plans, previously only available for periods of three months or less, were extended for up to 12 months and could be renewed. The short-term plans did not include the expected benefits of Obamacare, including maternity coverage and insurance guarantee regardless of health.
Reportage by Rami Ayyub and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Mark Porter
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