The superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, Linda A. Lacewell, has issued a statement in response to recent news reports regarding the increased sale of limited duration health insurance plans to remind New Yorkers that such plans are prohibited for sale in New York State:
We know that so-called Trumpcare – or however else these short-term plans are marketed – is nothing more than a ploy to convince Americans to buy junk insurance. Here in New York State we have said clearly and repeatedly that these plans are prohibited for sale in the Empire State. These plans often fail to cover basic services and end up making health insurance more costly for consumers, and the fact that such junk insurance is allowed for sale anywhere in the U.S. is an unfortunate product of the current federal administration's continual dismantling of basic protections for Americans seeking quality and affordable healthcare. New York State will continue to put consumers first and stand guard against those that seek to undermine the protections guaranteed by our laws by selling short-term plans or limited benefit policies which fail to comply with New York State mandates.
In June 2018, the DFS issued a circular letter reminding insurers and health maintenance organizations ("HMOs") that short-term limited duration health insurance plans are prohibited in New York State regardless of potential federal regulatory changes.
In November 2018, the DFS again reminded insurers that health insurance policies that are sold on a longer-term basis, but still with limited benefits, are not permissible in New York.
In the view of the DFS, short-term plans were created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as an "end-run around the Affordable Care Act," with recent news reports revealing "serious shortcomings with patients ending up facing enormous medical bills when they believed they had more robust coverage."
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].