Outcome of Suit Against Department of Labor Could Boost Skimpy Employer Health Plans

A long-running lawsuit challenging what it means to be an employee and therefore have access to work-based health plans is being closely watched by health policy analysts. Its outcome could spur the availability of lower-cost but potentially skimpier health coverage that skirts some consumer protections. Court papers indicate a settlement in the case against the Department of Labor may be in the works, although the parameters of any such deal are unknown. It would come amid premium surges on Affordable Care Act marketplaces that have led millions to drop coverage this year. The Trump administration has also been sharply focused on expanding access to alternative coverage, such as short-term plans that avoid ACA rules on preexisting conditions and benefit requirements. “Depending on what happens with the settlement, this could be an even bigger expansion,” said Katie Keith, director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. “People are worried that it is the opening salvo into promoting junk plans that don’t meet the ACA requirements.” The plaintiff, Data Marketing Partnership, filed its case against the Department of Labor in 2019, during ...