Trump eases red tape on bare-bones health insurance. What this means for you

[Ms. Toad]

21. About short term health insurance plans . . .

I've used them when insurance companies denied coverage based on dramatically overblown pre-existing conditions. I didn't expect a denial (since my health status had not changed) or I would have gone about obtaining insurance differently, but once I racked up a denial no one else would touch me.

This was both pre-ACA, and pre-Obergefell. My spouse was working and had insurance; our daughter and I weren't eligible for coverage through her work because our marriage was not recognized.

They weren't horrendous, given the times. Some pretty cheap plans offered pretty good coverage . . . with two catches: The plans were 6 months maximum, and no pre-existing conditions were covered. For around 18 months, IIRC I cycled through different short term plans so that anything new was covered. The cost was a pittance - maybe $99/month (and that was the full premium - no employer kick-in). If the pre-existing thing the real plans were worried about popped up, I would have been forced to buy the state's high risk pool plan - at around $1500/month. Those were my options. They were a darn sight better than the alternative - which was no insurance at all.

The goal of ACA was to lower premiums by getting everyone insured - so if the healthy folks opt out for these dirt-cheap plans the sicker folks will be left in the ACA pool - driving premiums up. Causing more people to drop out - and if the trend continues, the ACA premiums will be as high as the previous high risk pools.