WEBVTT 00:02.033 --> 00:05.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Today, the Trump administration took another step toward eliminating Obamacare 00:05.100 --> 00:10.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% by changing rules that will allow consumers to buy cheaper, shorter-term health insurance. 00:12.066 --> 00:15.633 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% But, as Lisa Desjardins explains, there are concerns that this move, set to take place 00:15.633 --> 00:20.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% this fall, may be harmful for people with health problems and possibly left without 00:21.500 --> 00:23.566 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% enough health care coverage. 00:23.566 --> 00:27.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: The president says there needs to be more affordable insurance options 00:27.633 --> 00:31.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% than what's available through the Obamacare marketplaces now. 00:31.033 --> 00:36.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The short-term plans will likely offer much lower premiums, but insurers wouldn't have 00:38.000 --> 00:41.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to cover preexisting conditions or offer the same benefits as required by the Affordable 00:42.000 --> 00:44.000 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Care Act. 00:44.000 --> 00:46.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Currently, people can only use short-term coverage for three months. 00:46.400 --> 00:51.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But the new rules would allow people to keep those plans for a year and potentially renew 00:51.100 --> 00:53.466 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% them for a total of three years. 00:53.466 --> 00:56.500 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% Julie Appleby covers this for Kaiser Health News and joins me now. 00:56.500 --> 00:59.666 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Julie Appleby, let me just start off right away. 00:59.666 --> 01:04.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% While the Trump administration says these are good options for people, cheaper, opponents 01:04.100 --> 01:06.633 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% say they're skimpy and risky. 01:06.633 --> 01:08.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Just explain what these plans are. 01:08.066 --> 01:10.033 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% What do they do? 01:10.033 --> 01:12.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JULIE APPLEBY, Kaiser Health News: Well, these are short-term plans that are meant to be 01:12.133 --> 01:14.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% sort of a stopgap between -- maybe you have lost your job or you're between jobs. 01:14.866 --> 01:15.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% You need some coverage for a little while. 01:15.866 --> 01:17.366 align:left position:30%,start line:83% size:60% So they're meant to be a stopgap. 01:17.366 --> 01:19.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% They have been around for a long time. 01:19.066 --> 01:23.933 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% They are, currently, as you mentioned, available only up to 90 days. 01:23.933 --> 01:26.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So you have to renew them every few months. 01:26.800 --> 01:30.666 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Trump administration is changing the rules on that to make them available for up to a 01:30.666 --> 01:32.733 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% year. 01:32.733 --> 01:34.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But what they are, basically, they have some similarities to what we're used to as job-based 01:34.266 --> 01:37.300 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% insurance, for example, but there are some major differences. 01:37.300 --> 01:39.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% They're less expensive. 01:39.300 --> 01:42.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And the reason they're less expensive is because they cover a lot less. 01:42.066 --> 01:44.666 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% They can be choosy about who they pick. 01:44.666 --> 01:47.933 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% So if you are sick or have some kind of preexisting condition, you might not even be able to buy 01:47.933 --> 01:50.100 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% one of these plans. 01:50.100 --> 01:52.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: I was looking up, for example, what, again, one of these plans might look 01:52.266 --> 01:54.433 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% like for me or someone like me. 01:54.433 --> 01:56.533 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And the deductibles are huge. 01:56.533 --> 02:00.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% You would pay everything up to, say, $10,000, but your premium is much less. 02:00.600 --> 02:01.733 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Who would benefit from this? 02:01.733 --> 02:03.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% Who would be the winners of this change? 02:03.700 --> 02:07.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JULIE APPLEBY: So, the folks that might find these appealing are generally younger and 02:07.633 --> 02:12.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% healthier people, those folks who don't have a preexisting condition, because, remember, 02:12.500 --> 02:14.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% those folks aren't going to be able to buy these. 02:14.066 --> 02:16.066 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% So that might appeal to them. 02:16.066 --> 02:20.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And it's also folks who are struggling right now to pay for an Affordable Care Act plan 02:21.366 --> 02:23.366 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% because they don't get a subsidy. 02:23.366 --> 02:26.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Remember, the Affordable Care Act provides subsidies to people who earn up to about 400 02:26.033 --> 02:30.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% percent of the poverty level, which is about $48,000 for an individual. 02:30.000 --> 02:33.166 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But if you don't get a subsidy, some of the premiums can be very expensive. 02:33.166 --> 02:35.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So the Trump administration says, we want to offer these plans. 02:35.933 --> 02:37.900 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% They are going to be lower-cost. 02:37.900 --> 02:41.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But they do come with this caveat that they cover a lot fewer things, and they may have 02:41.333 --> 02:43.400 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% very high deductibles. 02:43.400 --> 02:46.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And the other thing, that these short-term plans don't have to follow a lot of the Affordable 02:46.733 --> 02:48.800 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Care Act rules. 02:48.800 --> 02:51.900 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So they could have annual or lifetime limits, which are also barred in the Affordable Care 02:51.900 --> 02:52.900 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% Act plans. 02:52.900 --> 02:54.633 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 02:54.633 --> 02:56.700 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: If you get a catastrophic disease, for example. 02:56.700 --> 02:59.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JULIE APPLEBY: Some of -- some of the patient advocacy groups, many of the patient advocacy 02:59.233 --> 03:03.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% groups are very concerned about these plans, that people who are sick are going to perhaps 03:03.300 --> 03:06.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% buy them or become sick while they have one and realize that they don't cover a lot of 03:06.600 --> 03:08.700 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% things or that there are these high deductibles. 03:08.700 --> 03:12.266 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: If you hit $500,000 of cancer treatment, you may be on the hook for what's 03:12.266 --> 03:13.266 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% left, for example. 03:13.266 --> 03:15.300 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JULIE APPLEBY: Right. 03:15.300 --> 03:17.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Some of them may have a limit of $250,000 a year in coverage or $2 million a year in 03:17.566 --> 03:19.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% coverage or that type of thing. 03:19.600 --> 03:23.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So that's where folks are really going to have to read the fine print on these plans. 03:25.633 --> 03:28.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Trump administration in their new rule that came out today said that they are going 03:28.000 --> 03:33.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to require insurers to put sort of a little box on their plan and say, these plans may 03:34.800 --> 03:36.300 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% not cover everything, read everything. 03:36.300 --> 03:38.333 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% It might not cover hospitalization. 03:38.333 --> 03:42.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It might not cover emergency room care, and to read the plans carefully before you purchase 03:42.000 --> 03:43.000 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% it. 03:43.000 --> 03:44.533 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% (CROSSTALK) 03:44.533 --> 03:45.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Risk warning for the -- for your insurance. 03:45.333 --> 03:46.800 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% JULIE APPLEBY: Right. 03:46.800 --> 03:48.233 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: I want to talk about the scope of this. 03:48.233 --> 03:51.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% This -- let's look at the numbers about short-term plans. 03:51.200 --> 03:56.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Right now, there are some, it looks like, 122,500 people who use these plans on the 03:58.100 --> 04:00.800 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% individual market. 04:00.800 --> 04:04.566 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% The White House has said in the last day that they think this change will change that substantially 04:06.533 --> 04:09.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to 600,000, almost five times as many, and then, in three years, that will be almost 04:09.733 --> 04:13.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% more than 1.5 million people who use these short-term plans. 04:13.033 --> 04:16.866 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% That's a huge change for these plans. 04:16.866 --> 04:20.066 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% But what does that mean in terms of individual markets? 04:20.066 --> 04:22.833 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And how is this going to affect the health of Obamacare? 04:22.833 --> 04:27.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Because, obviously, this is the president trying to go after the Affordable Care Act. 04:27.733 --> 04:30.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JULIE APPLEBY: There's been a number of estimates on how many people would buy these plans. 04:30.333 --> 04:34.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And I think until they come out and insurers start offering and we see how many people 04:34.733 --> 04:36.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% sign up for them, it's hard to say. 04:36.800 --> 04:41.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The government does expect about 600,000 people in the first year, in 2019. 04:41.000 --> 04:44.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And they think, of those, about 200,000 of them will come from the Affordable Care Act 04:44.866 --> 04:46.266 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% plan. 04:46.266 --> 04:47.500 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% These are folks who probably don't get a subsidy. 04:47.500 --> 04:49.500 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% So they might jump to one of these. 04:49.500 --> 04:53.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The concern is -- and the government and other estimates have shown that this will raise 04:53.066 --> 04:57.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% premiums for those folks who stay in the Affordable Care Act, because it siphons out probably 04:57.766 --> 04:59.800 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% the younger and healthier folks. 04:59.800 --> 05:03.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, then the premiums may go up in the Affordable Care Act marketplace. 05:03.733 --> 05:07.233 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% If you're getting a subsidy, your subsidy is also going to increase. 05:07.233 --> 05:10.600 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% So folks who get a subsidy may not see that much of a difference. 05:10.600 --> 05:14.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But the very people that are struggling to buy coverage right now, those folks who are 05:14.933 --> 05:17.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% buying it on their own, and they don't get a subsidy, they may see a premium increase 05:17.933 --> 05:19.900 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% as a result. 05:19.900 --> 05:23.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And some of them may not be able to buy one of these short-term plans because they have 05:23.000 --> 05:24.966 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% a preexisting condition. 05:24.966 --> 05:28.200 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: So, while this isn't a huge market itself, it will grow, and it could 05:28.200 --> 05:29.700 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% have a lot of ripple effects. 05:29.700 --> 05:31.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% JULIE APPLEBY: It could have some ripple effects. 05:31.766 --> 05:33.833 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% As you mentioned, there's about 14 million people in the plan -- in the Affordable Care 05:33.833 --> 05:38.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Act now; 200,000 of those leave, but, over time, that could grow up quite a bit. 05:38.133 --> 05:40.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Julie Appleby with Kaiser Health News, thank you very much. 05:40.700 --> 05:41.033 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% JULIE APPLEBY: Thank you.