Keep US Covered posted on April 29

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Last night, President Joe Biden highlighted the progress he and his administration have made in their first 100 days in office and outlined his plans for the future in his first address to a joint session of Congress. As we turn the corner on the Covid-19 pandemic and begin safely reopening, improving health care is an integral part of President Biden’s agenda.

 

The president laid out what he envisions for a stronger, more equitable health care system in America:

1. Strengthening the Affordable Care Act and keeping deductibles low

2. Lowering health care costs for Americans

3. Creating more equity in society – in terms of access to food, education and housing – that is critical to reducing health disparities

 

Keep US Covered is eager to help the Biden Administration improve health care for all Americans. Access to quality coverage, affordability for working families and a greater focus on health equity are all at the core of our mission.

 

These shared priorities were clearly driving forces behind President Biden’s executive order asking federal agencies to review misguided and potentially harmful Trump-era policies. Keep US Covered believes strongly that two actions should be prioritized to begin the process of strengthening and improving health care for all Americans with these priorities in mind:

• Rescinding the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement (ICHRA) rule

• Rolling back the expansion of Short-Term Limited Duration Insurance

 

ICHRA Refresher

Under the ICHRA system, workers can be divided into different classes – some stay on their employer-sponsored plan and others are forced onto the individual market with a stipend. Not only would this leave some workers with lower-quality or more expensive coverage and threaten the affordability of the whole marketplace, it also opens the door to discrimination.

 

STLDI Refresher

During the previous administration, the definition of “short-term” insurance (intended to fill gaps in an individual’s coverage, such as when someone is between jobs) was stretched to three years. This has flooded the market with junk insurance, leaving Americans exposed to coverage options that don’t meet health care needs, resulting in high medical bills.

 

Taking action to roll back these two harmful regulations is in line with President Biden’s health care agenda, costs taxpayers nothing, and sends the signal that his administration is firmly on the side of both fairness and protecting quality coverage for working Americans and families.

 

Important progress has been made in the Biden Administration’s first 100 days, particularly in tackling the pandemic head-on. In the next 100 days, we can start the important work of improving the American health care system for the long term.