Trump eases red tape on bare-bones health insurance. What this means for you

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Aug. 25, 2025, 5:02 a.m. ET


With millions of people projected to lose health insurance over the next decade, President Donald Trump's administration appears ready to ease access to a potentially cheaper form of coverage.

The Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury departments said they'll relax enforcement of a Biden-era rule that limited the use of a type of bare-bones health insurance, known as short-term health insurance. The plans are typically cheaper, but often lack protections for consumers who buy their own health insurance.

Furthermore, the three departments expect to draft new rules to consider changes to these insurance plans.

What is short-term health insurance?

Short-term insurance plans often cost less than Affordable Care Act plans but come with a catch. Insurers that sell these plans don't offer all of the robust benefits of ACA plans. Also unlike ACA plans, insurers can deny or limit coverage based on a person's health status.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/08/25/trump-expand-short-term-health-insurance/85742442007/

[Irish_Dem]

1. Insurance with no coverage.

It is a scam.

[hibbing]

4. My first thought too

[LiberalArkie]

6. Ideal for the insurance companies.. All accounts receivable and no accounts payable. Stockholders will love it

[Irish_Dem]

7. Heck of a business model.

The only cost is the salesperson con artist who sells the policy.
And the person who sends out the denial letters.

[LiberalArkie]

14. What do you think AI is for.. The only payroll would be a few executives (who might even be the IT people)

[Irish_Dem]

15. Yep AI online sales. Robot prints out and mails the rejection letters.

Zero or little cost to the fat cat insurance executives.
Who lounge pool side in their beachfront homes.

[Nigrum Cattus]

10. Medicare dis-advantage for private buyers

Just like most terrible insurance. They will deny
most or all of expensive claims. Our system, for
some reason, allows insurance companies to override
doctors. Does not happen in any other 1st world country !

[popsdenver]

19. Doctors and Nurses

across the U.S. are bailing out in droves.......The Reason?

We are no longer practicing medicine, we are practicing CORPORATE POLICY.........

[bucolic_frolic]

2. You're too sick to receive payment for your illness

Very reassuring.

[Klarkashton]

3. Might as well save your money and hope you don't ever get sick.

[FalloutShelter]

5. Basically "collision" on your body.

Die faster slaves.

[eringer]

8. The Return of "The Rainmaker"

Great movie. Sequel staring the convicted felon should be exciting. Hopefully the one one needed a bone marrow transplant is Barron

[crimycarny]

11. Yep, "Street-surance"

First thing I thought of was the Rainmaker and Danny Devito's character describing this sort of insurance policy as "street-surance". Total scam.

[Bengus81]

9. Speaking of health Trump...yours is getting worse day by day and you look like SHIT.

Can't wait for you to fucking drop dead. Hope to hell it's on live TV.

[PSPS]

12. Here come the hucksters!!

You'll be bombarded with misleading ads touting how the "plan" is so "reasonably priced." Of course, it covers no pre-existing conditions or behaviors, and other bogus things that get around the "pooled risk" model of real insurance. The crooked companies will make a lot of money and, as per usual, launder a percentage back to republicans as "campaign contributions" or, better yet, just stuff it into trump's pocket.

[C Moon]

13. COVID? Why didn't you get vaccinated?

You wouldn’t cover the vaccine!

That’s no excuse. We won’t pay your COVID hospital bills. You should have been vaccinated.

[CentralMass]

16. tRumpCare. It comes with a shovel and and a tRump bible

[kirby]

17. Junk plans is what they are called...

Not some sanitized short term plan.

[Javaman]

18. The return of denial due to

“Preexisting health issue”

[popsdenver]

20. ******* Corporations

Corporations merging with Government is called FASCISM

[Ms. Toad]

21. About short term health insurance plans . . .

I've used them when insurance companies denied coverage based on dramatically overblown pre-existing conditions. I didn't expect a denial (since my health status had not changed) or I would have gone about obtaining insurance differently, but once I racked up a denial no one else would touch me.

This was both pre-ACA, and pre-Obergefell. My spouse was working and had insurance; our daughter and I weren't eligible for coverage through her work because our marriage was not recognized.

They weren't horrendous, given the times. Some pretty cheap plans offered pretty good coverage . . . with two catches: The plans were 6 months maximum, and no pre-existing conditions were covered. For around 18 months, IIRC I cycled through different short term plans so that anything new was covered. The cost was a pittance - maybe $99/month (and that was the full premium - no employer kick-in). If the pre-existing thing the real plans were worried about popped up, I would have been forced to buy the state's high risk pool plan - at around $1500/month. Those were my options. They were a darn sight better than the alternative - which was no insurance at all.

The goal of ACA was to lower premiums by getting everyone insured - so if the healthy folks opt out for these dirt-cheap plans the sicker folks will be left in the ACA pool - driving premiums up. Causing more people to drop out - and if the trend continues, the ACA premiums will be as high as the previous high risk pools.