The House has voted 261-157 to pass legislation allowing insurance companies to continue offering non-grandfathered health plans next year that don't meet Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requirements, according to a report from The Hill.
The passage of the Keep Your Health Plan Act follows President Barack Obama's announcement yesterday that he would take executive action to make sure health insurers can continue offering individual market health plans for the next year.
Originally, non-grandfathered policies — plans that went into effect or underwent certain changes after the PPACA became law in March 2010 — had to meet new coverage requirements in 2014. Under the PPACA, individual health plans must cover "essential benefits" such as prescription drugs, mental health services and maternity care. Insurers must also cap consumers' annual expenses.
Many insurers sent out cancellation notices to people enrolled in non-grandfathered individual plans that didn't meet these requirements. The development spurred Republicans to criticize President Obama, saying he had failed to keep his promise that Americans could keep their old health plans if they wanted under the PPACA.
Insurance industry members have expressed concern about the change in policy, saying extending plans that aren't grandfathered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could lead to fewer younger and healthier people purchasing coverage through the health insurance exchanges, causing premiums to increase.
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