Sen. Ted Cruz wants Senate repeal legislation to allow cheaper ‘junk insurance’

McClatchy ^ | June 30, 2017 | Tony Pugh

[2ndDivisionVet]

A proposal by Sen. Ted Cruz to let insurers provide less comprehensive coverage under the Senate health care bill could lead to an explosion of limited-benefit “junk insurance” in states that weaken consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act.

Junk insurance can include specified disease plans that cover only certain diseases; supplemental plans that cover only the expenses another policy doesn’t; and fixed-dollar indemnity plans that provide a specified amount per day toward medical costs.

The Congressional Budget Office considers people with these policies to be uninsured “because they do not have financial protection from major medical risks.”

Before the Affordable Care Act, consumers buying health coverage outside the workplace faced a minefield of low-quality insurance with gaping coverage exclusions and benefit limits designed to protect insurers against costly medical conditions.

The ACA pushed that coverage to the margins by requiring individual plans to cover ten “essential health benefits,” including maternity care, mental health services and prescription drugs.....

[Wuli]

When it comes to insurance, what so-called experts call “comprehensive” may be unaffordable “junk” (mandates) to some who don’t think they need a one-size-fits-all “comprehensive” plan - which is really just meant to get more people paying for coverage they may not need.

[Mr. Jeeves]

It is understandable that liberals universally think people are too stupid to make their own decisions. They are using their peers as a frame of reference. :)