# Plain Language Summary: Protecting Patients from Deceptive Health Plans Act

This bill targets a loophole that insurance companies have been using to sell what look like health insurance plans but are actually very limited coverage that doesn't protect people the way real health insurance does. These are called "excepted benefits," and they're often marketed to people as affordable alternatives to comprehensive health insurance, even though they cover almost nothing when you actually get sick or injured.

Here's what the bill does: it requires that anyone buying these limited plans must already have real, comprehensive health insurance that covers at least 60 percent of their medical costs. In other words, you can't use these cheap, limited plans as your only insurance. The bill also prevents insurance companies from selling these plans based on how sick someone is—they can't charge more or refuse to cover someone because they have a serious illness or condition. Additionally, the bill narrows what these plans can cover, limiting them to things like disability income insurance and accident-only coverage, rather than letting companies sell them as catch-all health plans.

The practical impact is that people won't be tricked into buying plans that sound like health insurance but leave them unprotected when they get seriously ill. Someone can't spend $50 a month on a plan that claims to be health insurance only to discover it doesn't cover their cancer treatment or hospitalization. These limited plans can still exist, but only as supplements for people who already have real health insurance. The changes take effect on January 1, 2023, for any new or renewed policies.

Protecting Patients from Deceptive Health Plans Act

Hayes, Jahana

Protecting Patients from Deceptive Health Plans Act This bill prohibits the sale of health insurance coverage arrangements that are exempt from the federal health insurance requirements unless the individual purchasing the arrangement is enrolled in a plan that provides minimum essential coverage. Further, excepted benefits must be paid without regard to the severity of the illness, injury, diagnosis, or other characteristics related to treatment.