Key Vote NO on the Resolution to Undo the Expansion of Short-Term, Limited-Duration Health Plans, S.J.Res. 63

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to vote NO on the Resolution to Undo the Expansion of Short-Term Limited Duration Health Plans, S.J.Res. 63, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.). The resolution would use the Congressional Review Act to overturn a rule issued earlier this year by the Trump administration that expanded consumer access to short-term, limited-duration (STLD) health plans. STLD plans offer some of the only relief to consumers have as of now from ObamaCare’s Title I regulations that have driven health insurance costs through the roof.

Contrary to the narrative of the left that these are “junk insurance plans,” STLD plans actually offer valuable alternatives for coverage to those individuals who, as Sen. Baldwin’s press release itself notes, “don’t have to cover pre-existing conditions and…services like prescription drugs, emergency room visits, and maternity care.” For those individuals who do not need these services covered, STLD plans can in fact offer suitable and much more affordable coverage.

In no circumstance do these plans offer or should they be considered an acceptable substitute to Republicans in Congress taking action on repealing ObamaCare, one of the many campaign promises that they have failed to follow through on. However, the Trump administration’s short-term, limited-duration rule does offer meaningful expansion of these plans that were severely restricted by the Obama administration to force individuals onto the ObamaCare exchanges who did not need expansive and expensive coverage required on exchange plans.

The Trump administration was right to undo these restrictions and expand health care choice where possible absent congressional action. The Democrats’ effort to use the Congressional Review Act to continue to prop up ObamaCare artificially by government restriction and coercion is the wrong way to take congressional action on health care.

Instead of allowing Democrats to force votes on undoing some of the only work that has been done to alleviate the burdens of ObamaCare on Americans, Republicans need to actually repeal ObamaCare like they said they would. This includes providing true freedom from ObamaCare’s federal regulations, fully repealing ObamaCare’s taxes, eliminating ObamaCare’s congressional exemption, modernizing and restricting the expansion of Medicaid, expanding health savings accounts, and enabling the purchase of health coverage across state lines.

Voting for this resolution while failing to follow through or even act on the aforementioned aspects of repealing ObamaCare would be the height of Republican hypocrisy.

FreedomWorks will count the vote for S.J.Res. 63 on our 2018 Congressional Scorecard. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.

Sincerely, Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks