Letter to the editor: Feds need to protect us from junk insurance plans Billy McWilliams

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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This fellow is the owner of a sex shop in Bozeman, Erotique, and former chair of the Gallatin County Democratic Party. And, he gave out free vibrators to persuade women to vote. 

This is the man who is going to lecture us on doing the right thing. Apparently he is so proud of his writing that he submitted his letter to the Billings Gazette and the Missoulian as well.

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Though our ongoing pandemic recovery is progressing with nearly 50% of Montanans fully vaccinated, the last 16 months have exposed gaps in our health care system. ("Our" recovery. "Our" health care system. Mr. McWilliams, a far left activist, chooses his words purposefully. "Our" is never "you and me," it is always government. 

As a collectivist, Mr. McWilliams can only think in terms of groups as opposed to individuals. This means that every problem is a group problem which requires "our" [government] action to solve. 

The reader will see how this plays out.)

At the forefront are issues in our ("Our.") 

health insurance industry, especially when it came to the expansion of short-term, limited-duration insurance plans (STLDIs), also known as “junk plans.” (Are STLDIs really at the "forefront?" It is certainly an issue being trumpeted by a few far-left websites and blogs. And Mr. McWilliams is clearly trying to make an issue of them, as we have just documented. But this problem is hardly at the forefront.

A STLDI is a temporary health insurance contract, designed to provide coverage for people who are in transition between health plans, or have lost their plan due to an employment change, or want to have coverage while waiting for the next ACA enrollment date.

Some people have been buying them because the duration of the insurance has been expanded to up to 364 days, plus the option to renew two times. Thus a person can buy a STLDI that will last for up to three years.

This was made possible by the elimination of the "shared responsibility payment" [the ACA penalty for not buying approved coverage] to zero. That means a person is no longer penalized by purchasing a plan that doesn't conform to the ACA coverage requirements, or by going uninsured.

This opened up alternative ways of obtaining coverage outside the grasp of regulators. The Left calls these "junk plans," not because they are worthless, but rather because they don't comply with ACA requirements. The authoritarian Left doesn't like it when they can't control peoples' choices or the contents of contracts like insurance plans.)

Before the pandemic, the Trump administration took action that allowed STDLI junk plans to proliferate. They (The Trump administration would be an "it," not a "they.")

not only expanded the time plans could be utilized, from less than a year to three years, but encouraged the public to adopt them as an “affordable” coverage option. During the pandemic, many that lost their employer-sponsored insurance turned to these barebones plans that don’t cover preexisting conditions, covered services under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or preventive services. (Ok, follow the logic. A "junk plan" doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, which means these plans are medically underwritten. Since it is unlikely a STDLI insurance company would issue a policy to a person with a serious medical condition, this means that if you qualify for a plan you don't have a pre-existing condition, or you have a condition that the STDLI insurance company would accept, or possibly exclude. So they will make you a conditional offer, excluding a particular condition. You then make your choice to buy the plan knowing this. 

This means the "problem" of not covering pre-existing conditions doesn't exist.

Further, the real problem Mr. McWilliams has is with peoples' choices. He doesn't like the fact that people are doing "unapproved" things. He doesn't think people should be able to buy the health insurance of their own choice.)

The affordability of these junk insurance plans on the front end is what makes them appealing for Americans across the country. (Of course. People will often make choices based on price vs. coverage. Mr. McWilliams want to take away this choice and force people to spend more money on coverage they don't want.)

But for the 150,000+ Montanans that suffer from a pre-existing condition, these plans can be of much lower quality than they appear and result in higher out-of-pocket costs. (Again, a person with a pre-existing condition likely would not be able to buy one of these plans. Plus we can be sure that 150,000+ Montanans are not in this position at all, where they are making this choice. Certainly no one is forcing them to buy a STDLI plan.)

Fortunately, the Biden administration has pushed for policies that help make coverage more affordable, including through the American Rescue Plan, (Interesting. After acknowledging that ACA insurance is too expensive, and decrying those who try to get around it, Mr. McWilliams finally admits that there is something else in the equation.)

which boosted subsidies for marketplace plans, lowered the cap on monthly payments, and expanded free and low-cost options to the uninsured. (So, if the ACA plans are now price-competitive with "junk" plans, where is the money coming from to make this so? What is funding the American Rescue Plan?)

I applaud Sen. Jon Tester for his role in opposing these plans, including through his co-sponsorship of the No Junk Plans Act, which would overturn the Trump-era rule. The federal government needs to work overtime to protect Montanans and Americans from these harmful plans. (Then what is the purpose of Mr. McWilliams' letter? The Democrats have majorities in both Houses plus they have the presidency. If the No Junk Plans Act is on the table, they just need to pass it. 

So, Mr. McWilliams presumes that people who buy these plans are stupid. Certainly they should not have this choice. They should be forced to buy coverage he approves of. 

He believes government should implement laws that prevent people from making unapproved decisions. He thinks there needs to be a law that forces people to buy what the government considers good insurance coverage.

And for some reason there are 150,000 Montanans who are going to buy a junk insurance plan, but actually they couldn't because they wouldn't qualify for it.)