Biden's junk fee crusade turns to short-term health insurance plans
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[July 08, 2023]
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday announced new
steps to crack down on short-term health insurance plans and surprise
medical bills, stepping up his war against so-called junk fees to lower
healthcare costs.
This will include a proposed rule that closes loopholes companies use to
offer misleading short-term insurance products, discriminate based on
pre-existing conditions, offer little to no coverage and saddle
consumers with thousands of dollars worth of medical expenses, Biden
said.
"It's not necessarily about healthcare, it’s about being played for a
sucker," Biden said at a White House event announcing the policies.
"That's a scam and it has to end."
The Obama administration in 2016 limited short-term insurance plans to
three months to try to get more people on year-round plans, but
regulations adopted by the Trump administration in 2018 allowed people
to stay on such plans for 12 months and renew them for three years.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/08/images/ads/current/nutrienag_sda_HEROES_2023.png)
The White House said the plans were leaving families surprised by
thousands of dollars in medical expenses.
With inflation still a potent political issue, the Biden administration
has made it a priority to fight hidden fees by asking federal regulators
to increase their oversight of companies across a range of industries
including hotels, banks and airlines.
Biden, who in over two years as president has witnessed a sharp rebound
from the COVID-19-induced recession, has nonetheless watched his public
approval ratings sag under the weight of voters' anxiety about inflation
and the economy's direction.
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![](../images/070823PIX/health31.jpg)
U.S. President Joe Biden arrives aboard
Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S. July 6, 2023.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2019/Sep/05/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png) Job creation and low unemployment
are the positives while elevated inflation and the knock-on effects
of spiking interest rates over the past year in areas such as the
housing market have stoked fears of recession.
Biden also announced new rules to cut down on surprise medical
billing, limit the use of third-party medical credit cards that
include "teaser rates" and do not fully disclose the risks.
Surprise bills can occur when people are taken to the nearest
hospital for emergency care or when someone goes to an in-network
hospital but one of the doctors who treat them there is
out-of-network, leading to surprise bills, the White House said.
More than half of Americans disapprove of how Biden is handling his
job, while just 35% of respondents approve of his stewardship of the
economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in June. Voters
rate the economy as their top issue.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose; additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and
Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Mark Potter and Marguerita Choy)
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