New Suit Challenges “Short-Term, Limited-Duration” Plans
On September 14, several patient organizations filed suit in the D.C. Federal District Court to challenge the validity of the CMS regulation allowing the sale of “short-term, limited-duration” insurance policies. The plaintiffs are the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (nonprofit health plans); the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Mental Health America; the American Psychiatric Association.; AIDS United; the National Partnership for Women and Families; and Little Lobbyists. Among other things, they argue that the sale of these plans undermines the ACA’s aims of ensuring that people with pre-existing conditions can obtain affordable health insurance and that insurance policies offer essential benefits. See The New Lawsuit To Save Obamacare, Explained (Vox, 9/14/18).