Understanding short-term limited duration health insurance Understanding short-term limited duration health insurance

Collection: Health Policy and Services Research Series Title(s): Issue brief (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation) Author(s): Pollitz, Karen, author Long, Michelle, author Semanskee, Ashley, author Kamal, Rabah, author Contributor(s): Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, issuing body. Publication: San Francisco, CA : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2018 Language(s): English Format: Text Subject(s): Insurance, Health -- organization & administration United States United States. Genre(s): Technical Report Abstract: Short-term, limited duration (STLD) health insurance has long been offered to individuals through the non-group market and through associations. The product was designed for people who experience a temporary gap in health coverage.1 Unlike other products that are considered "limited benefit" or "excepted benefit" policies--such as cancer-only policies or hospital indemnity policies that pay a fixed dollar benefit per inpatient stay--short-term policies are generally considered to be "major medical" coverage; however, short-term policies are distinguished from other comprehensive major medical policies because they only provide coverage for a limited term, typically less than 365 days. Short-term policies are also characterized by other significant limitations, including the types of services covered, often with a dollar maximum. Late last year, Congress repealed the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate penalty, the requirement that individuals have minimum essential health coverage or face a tax penalty. Starting in 2019, the tax penalty will be reduced to $0. It is possible this change could lead more consumers to consider purchasing short-term policies. In addition, late last year, President Trump issued an executive order directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take steps to expand the availability of short-term health insurance policies, and a proposed regulation to increase the maximum coverage term under such policies was published in February. This brief provides background information on short-term policies and how they differ from ACA-compliant health plans. Copyright: Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information) Extent: 1 online resource (1 PDF file (9 pages)). NLM Unique ID: 101740246 (See catalog record) Permanent Link: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101740246