WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said the following after Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar issued a final rule on short-term limited duration health insurance plans consistent with what the senator has advocated:

“I appreciate the Trump administration providing relief to the forgotten men and women harmed by Obamacare. The final rule expands options for consumers and provides additional flexibility for market-based consumer protections in the short-term market, like guaranteed renewability, that the Obama administration made illegal. Today’s action is a significant step in restoring personal freedom and individual choice in health care.”

Under Obamacare, premiums in the individual market have doubled and tripled in Wisconsin in some cases, and have more than doubled nationally. Senator Johnson has been an outspoken advocate of increasing access to short-term limited duration (STLD) plans to improve consumer choice and help reduce health care costs.

Senator Johnson led an effort in June 2017 when he and 13 senators wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services urging then-Secretary Tom Price to reverse an Obama-era regulation that reduced STLD plans from a maximum of 364 days to just 90 days in length. This past June Senator Johnson led a letter signed by 35 senators pressing Secretary Alex Azar to do the same, and provide additional flexibility by allowing renewal guarantees.

Background on Senator Johnson’s work on STLD plans

June 8, 2017: Senator Johnson’s letter to Secretary Price can be found here.

Aug. 14, 2017: The Wall Street Journal editorial on Senator Johnson’s 2017 letter can be found here.

June 8, 2018: Sen. Johnson’s letter to secretaries Mnuchin, Azar and Acosta can be found here. 

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