Slow rollout, more fine print with Trump health care options

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says insurers are “going wild” about his new health care options and “millions and millions” of people will be signing up.

But insurance companies say it will take time to design new plans and get approval from state regulators, and two major industry groups have actually expressed concern about potential downsides for consumers.

For people who need an individual policy and are anticipating cheaper plans this fall, the advice seems to be: Look carefully and read the fine print.

Short-term, limited-duration insurance— just approved — and association health plans represent the Trump administration alternatives to comprehensive but costly policies under the Affordable Care Act. Both offer lower premiums than comprehensive health insurance but also cover less. The plans won’t be sold through HealthCare.gov.

Myra Simon of the industry group America’s Health Insurance Plans said consumers are likely to see advertising this fall for short-term plans but association plans may be harder to find, since they’re not open to everybody. Policyholders must have a common link, such as working in an industry such as real estate.

“The short timeline may mean that this fall we aren’t going to see all the products we are eventually going to see,” said Simon, an expert on individual health insurance. “We might see some more heavy marketing of products that already existed.”

Jeff Smedrud, CEO of Pivot Health, which offers short-term plans, said companies are behind the curve on updating their plans to account for the greater leeway provided by the Trump administration. He’s forecasting “minor improvements” in plans by October but “a lot of change in 2019.”

Strictly speaking, shortterm and association health plans are not new.