Idaho to Sell Allow Health Insurers to Sell Bogus Plans

Law? We're Republicans We Don't Need No Stinkin' Law

One of the many great thing about the health care law is that it forbids phony health care policies. Policies which discriminate on existing conditions or leave out basic benefits or limit claims are just not allowed. Now Idaho has decided they will allow exactly those policies, federal law be damned.

In a bulletin issued Wednesday, the Idaho Department of Insurance said that it would allow insurers in the state to begin offering “state-based plans” to consumers. These products could leave out some of the benefits mandated by the ACA for individual coverage. Insurers would be able to consider enrollees’ medical history in setting their premiums, a practice known as underwriting, which isn’t authorized under the ACA. The new state-based plans could also include dollar limits on total benefit payouts, which the ACA banned.

Just so everyone is clear, considering medical history means if you have had any medical problems in the past your insurance will be prohibitively expensive or will cover so little it will have no value. Zombie Health Insurance, coming to a Republican state near you.