President’s decision allows people to keep their health plans, but the plans will offer lesser benefits and be sold without instant tax credits
Washington, DC – Here is a statement from Ethan Rome, executive director of Health Care for America Now, on President Obama’s decision to permit the renewal of health plans that were canceled by health insurers that declined to offer plans compliant with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) .
“Today’s announcement should end the media frenzy over the cancellation notices. President Obama is allowing Americans to keep their health plans if they like them and is ensuring that consumers will be educated about the better coverage with lower prices available through the health insurance marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For many consumers, this represents the first opportunity they’ve ever had to choose between high-quality, affordable plans in the marketplaces and inferior traditional plans offered by insurers. This will end the anxiety and confusion that the cancellation notices may have caused for many consumers.
“Insurance companies were blaming their policy cancellations on the ACA without telling the whole story to consumers about alternative plans in the marketplaces. The President’s action requires insurers to tell consumers the full story about their new options. Consumers need to know the truth and learn the available options, even if they include renewing substandard policies that will leave them vulnerable to financial disaster in the event of a costly sickness or accident.
“Most Americans aren’t affected by this cancellation issue because they are covered through Medicare, Medicaid or employer-sponsored health insurance, but this matters a whole lot to the people who are affected. For those who buy their insurance in the individual market, the President’s decision makes it easier for people to compare plans and decide to join more than 1 million people who have registered in the ACA marketplaces to choose a higher-quality private health plan.
“This isn’t going to stop the Republicans from their obsessive, endless effort to repeal this law, and that’s what Speaker John Boehner already said the Upton bill is all about. But it is going to address an important issue that will improve implementation without destabilizing the insurance markets as a predatory industry steadily moves away from victimizing consumers with junk health plans.”
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Health Care for America Now, the nation’s leading grassroots health care coalition, works to promote and defend the Affordable Care Act, protect Medicare and Medicaid, and advocate for fair taxes to support public services.