# Plain Language Summary: No Junk Plans Act

The No Junk Plans Act is designed to crack down on health insurance plans that look cheap on the surface but don't actually provide meaningful coverage when you need it. These are sometimes called "junk plans" or "skinny plans"—they might have very low monthly premiums, but they come with huge gaps in what they cover. For example, a junk plan might cover doctor visits but refuse to pay for hospital stays, surgeries, or prescription drugs, leaving you with massive bills if you get seriously ill or injured.

This bill would tighten the rules around what counts as acceptable health insurance. It aims to make sure that any plan marketed as health coverage actually covers the essential services people need, like emergency care, hospitalization, and preventive services. The goal is to protect consumers from being tricked into buying plans that sound affordable but leave them financially devastated when they actually need medical care. This particularly affects people who buy insurance on their own rather than through an employer, since they're more likely to be targeted with these inadequate plans.

By strengthening requirements for what health plans must cover, the bill would give consumers more confidence that their insurance will actually help pay for care when they need it, rather than discovering too late that their plan has massive holes in coverage. It's essentially saying that if you're going to call something health insurance and charge people for it, it needs to actually function as real insurance.

No Junk Plans Act

Baldwin, Tammy

No Junk Plans Act This bill nullifies a rule by the Department of Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Health and Human Services regarding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. Short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans are plans that may only offer coverage for a limited amount of time under law and that are exempt from the market requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (e.g., coverage of individuals with preexisting conditions). The rule increases the maximum authorized duration of such plans from less than 3 months (including renewals) to an initial maximum duration of less than 12 months (with a total duration of up to 36 months, including renewals). The rule took effect October 2, 2018.