Organizations across the country urge Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to make short-term plans renewable
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Holly Wetzel
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MIDLAND — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should allow more flexibility for short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans, according to 39 health policy experts from across the country. A letter signed by leading organizations, including the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, urges the agency to amend a proposed rule change.
Organized and submitted on behalf of the Health Policy Consensus Group by Galen Institute president, Grace-Marie Turner, the letter argues that the original rule was passed with the intent to limit and manipulate consumer choice by the Obama administration in 2016. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the IRS placed unnecessary restrictions on the sale of short-term health insurance policies, such as a 90 day limitation with no ability to renew, which violates a statute that reserves such regulations to the states.
“By reducing the restrictions placed on short-term policies, consumers would not only have more affordable options, but broader access to healthcare providers as well,” said Lindsay Boyd Killen, vice president for strategic outreach and communications at the Mackinac Center. “We are proud to join with many of our colleagues across the country in championing these necessary reforms.”
Allowing more versatility for short-term policies will give individuals more options when they need them. People rely on short-term health care plans during times of unexpected upheaval, and providing more flexible coverage could save lives.
“We hope this will convince CMS to amend its proposed rule to allow, among other things, renewability of short-term policies,” said Grace-Marie Turner in her article regarding the letter’s intentions in Forbes.
Signatories to CMS Comment letter submitted April 23, 2018 by the Galen Institute on behalf of the Health Policy Consensus Group:
Rick Santorum, Former U.S. Senator (R-PA)
Saulius Anuzis, 60 Plus Association
Doug Badger, Galen Institute and The Heritage Foundation
Naomi Lopez Bauman, Goldwater Institute
Lanhee Chen, Hoover Institution and Stanford University
Dean Clancy, Adams Auld LLC
Ryan Ellis, Family Business Coalition
Marie Fishpaw, The Heritage Foundation
Linda Gorman, Independence Institute
Beverly Gossage, HSA Benefits Consulting and Independent Women’s Forum
Ed Haislmaier, The Heritage Foundation
Rea Hederman, Jr., The Buckeye Institute
Heather R. Higgins, Independent Women’s Voice
Dan Holler, Heritage Action
Phil Kerpen, American Commitment
Lindsay Boyd Killen, Mackinac Center for Public Policy
Yuval Levin, Ethics and Public Policy Center
Carrie Lukas, Independent Women’s Forum
Nadine Maenza, Patriot Voices
James L. Martin, 60 Plus Association
Jenny Beth Martin, Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund
Thomas P. Miller, American Enterprise Institute
Robert E. Moffit, The Heritage Foundation
Derek Monson, Sutherland Institute
Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform
Sal Nuzzo, The James Madison Institute
Dan Perrin, HSA Coalition
Sally Pipes, Pacific Research Institute
Ramesh Ponnuru, American Enterprise Institute
Chris Pope, Manhattan Institute
Kevin Roberts, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Charlies Sauer, Market Institute
Thomas Schatz, Citizens Against Government Waste
Jameson Taylor, Mississippi Center for Public Policy
Mike Thompson, Thomas Jefferson Institute
Grace-Marie Turner, Galen Institute
Dan Weber, Association of Mature American Citizens
Steven White, M.D., Pulmonologist, Daytona Beach, FL
David Wilson, Asset Health
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Article: http://www.mackinac.org/health-policy-consensus-group-calls-for-short-term-health-plan-reform
