Cancer Society affiliate lobbies for veto of bill expanding 'deceitful' health plans – Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — The American Cancer Society’s nonpartisan advocacy affiliate Wednesday urged Gov. Laura Kelly to veto a bill expanding duration of the “deceitfully” affordable short term health plans because benefits fall short of pre-existing condition standards of the Affordable Care Act.

The Kansas Senate affirmed legislation first approved by the Kansas House that would make it legal for people to sign up for a short-term limited duration health plan for 36 months, which would match federal regulations adopted during the term of President Donald Trump. Under current Kansas law, individuals can extend a one-year contract for only 12 months.

Megan Word, who represents the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Kansas, said contents of Senate Bill 199 would broaden availability of alternative health plans that often deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions, such as cancer or COVID-19 as well as maternity care or prescription medication.

She said Kelly should veto extension of so-called STLD plans in Kansas because the plans didn’t cap out-of-pocket expenses and could feature high deductibles despite lower monthly premiums. The inherent financial hurdle could force people with major illnesses — such as the 16,000 Kansans diagnosed annually with cancer — to delay or forgo care, she said.

“STLD plans are deceitfully affordable and ultimately offer more risk than benefit,” Word said. “STLD plans do not provide the health coverage Kansans deserve. They’re not good enough for Kansans and they shouldn’t be good enough for Kansas lawmakers.”

The bill bringing Kansas law on STLDs into line with Trump administration policy expanding the allowable duration up to 36 months was approved by the Senate on a vote of 28-11 and by the House on a vote of 73-49.

In 2021, Kelly vetoed a comparable bill, which the Kansas Democratic Party denounced as “junk insurance” that discriminated against Kansas with pre-existing conditions.

Sen. Beverly Gossage, a Eudora Republican and an independent health insurance agent, has been a prominent advocate of lengthening renewal of STLDs. She introduced Senate Bill 199.

Gossage said the legislation would expand a reasonable alternative to traditional insurance policies and coverage tied to the Affordable Care Act marketplace. She said STLD plans could be appropriate for people who were between jobs or had other short-term needs for health coverage.

The senator indicated STLD plans weren’t a good fit for all Kansans, but could be the difference for some consumers between limited coverage and no coverage at all.

“The short term plans are at least 60% to 70% lower in premium than the ACA plans primarily because they do not cover pre‐existing conditions or other benefits that some purchasers do not want or would rather pay cash for, such as normal maternity, prescriptions, chiropractic services or mental health. Purchasers appreciate that they only pay for what they want insurance to cover,” Gossage said.

Gossage said Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma adopted laws permitting companies to offer clients an STLD plan for up to 36 months. Extensions of these plans would be at the option of the company rather than the consumer, she said.

Opposition to the bill also emerged from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics of Kansas, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Arthritis Foundation, Be The Match/National Marrow Donor Program, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.