Washington, D.C. - Today the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is considering a series of bills that would stabilize and strengthen the health insurance market and decrease the number of uninsured by improving the ability of people with pre-existing conditions to obtain and afford comprehensive health coverage. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) continues to work to ensure patients with serious illnesses like cancer have access to affordable, meaningful coverage.
Specifically, the legislation would reverse an administration rule that extends the availability of short-term limited-duration health insurance (STLD) plans. STLD plans can deny or charge people more for health coverage based on their health history, can impose arbitrary caps on coverage and are not required to provide essential health benefits, including coverage for services like prescription drugs. Additionally, the subcommittee is considering legislation to rescind guidance that would encourage the sale of these plans on state health insurance exchanges by allowing consumers to use premium tax credits to purchase this substandard coverage.
The subcommittee is also expected to vote on a bill restoring funding for consumer outreach and enrollment in signing up for health insurance, which has been reduced by 90 percent since 2016.
In addition to considering legislation to strengthen and preserve access to meaningful health coverage for patients, the subcommittee is examining proposals to improve patient access to lower cost drug therapies through a number of bills including the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act of 2019. The CREATES legislation addresses an important barrier to developing generic and biosimilar drug therapies.
A statement from Lisa Lacasse, president of ACS CAN follows:
“The subcommittee has an opportunity to take an important step to preserve access to comprehensive health care for millions of American cancer patients, survivors and anyone at risk for the disease.
“The changes the administration has put forth for short-term limited-duration health plans are destabilizing the individual insurance market which could result in coverage problems for sick and healthy consumers alike. Short-term products lure healthy people into substandard plans that don’t cover the care they need if they get sick and leave those with serious health conditions, like cancer, paying more for the comprehensive coverage necessary to treat their disease. STLD plans can deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, set arbitrary coverage limits and can exclude coverage for essential health benefits like prescription drugs. Short-term plans should not be encouraged through policies like the proposed waivers that would allow these inadequate plans to be sold alongside comprehensive coverage and subsidized through tax credits.
“Instead, Congress should preserve protections for people with pre-existing conditions like cancer and bolster the individual insurance market through full funding for education, outreach and enrollment in comprehensive health coverage on state health exchanges.
“We call on members of the subcommittee to support these important pieces of legislation to help ensure health insurance is available, adequate and affordable.
“We also appreciate the subcommittee’s commitment to find ways to improve access to affordable yet effective drug therapies for patients.
“Policies that increase generic competition and provide patients access to lifesaving therapies at lower costs must be addressed and examined. ACS CAN supports the concepts included in the CREATES Act and the details of the final proposals will be important to ensure provisions both lower patient out-of-pocket costs and maintain incentives for continued innovation. We welcome the opportunity to work with members of Congress to move bipartisan legislation forward.
“On behalf of all those affected by cancer we stand ready to work with Congress to improve our health care system and access to affordable, meaningful health care as evidence shows that those with health insurance are diagnosed at earlier stages when the disease is less expensive to treat and likelihood of survivorship is far greater.”