To amend title XXVII of the Public Health Service Act to ensure the appropriate availability of short-term limited duration insurance.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Fulcher introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The RIGHT Act of 2025 changes federal law to allow "short-term" health insurance plans to last up to 3 years with renewals, even though the original contract must expire in less than 12 months. This makes short-term plans a viable long-term alternative to Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans, even though short-term plans don't have to follow ACA rules like covering pre-existing conditions or providing essential health benefits.
Who Benefits and How
Health insurance companies that sell short-term plans (like National General, UnitedHealth, and Anthem) benefit the most. They gain legal protection to offer these plans for 3-year periods without meeting ACA consumer protections, opening up a major new market. Insurance brokers and agents also benefit from increased commissions on multi-year short-term plan sales. Healthy individuals who want cheaper coverage benefit by gaining access to lower-premium plans, though these plans may not cover them adequately if they get sick.
Who Bears the Burden and How
People with pre-existing conditions face higher costs because as healthy people leave the ACA marketplace for cheaper short-term plans, ACA premiums rise for those left behind who need comprehensive coverage. ACA marketplace insurers face revenue losses from adverse selection. State insurance regulators lose authority as this federal law likely overrides stricter state limits on short-term plan duration. Consumers who buy short-term plans face risks of inadequate coverage, high out-of-pocket costs, and coverage denials if their health changes.
Key Provisions
- Defines "short-term limited duration insurance" as health insurance with initial contracts under 12 months that can be renewed or extended for up to 3 years total
- Amends the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300gg-91(b)) to codify this definition in federal statute
- Prevents future administrations from restricting short-term plans through regulation alone since the definition is now in law
- Creates a regulatory safe harbor for insurers to market long-duration plans as "short-term" despite their multi-year availability
- Effectively weakens ACA marketplace stability by enabling cheaper non-compliant plans to compete directly with comprehensive coverage
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Expands the statutory definition of 'short-term limited duration insurance' to allow policies lasting up to 3 years with renewals, effectively circumventing ACA coverage requirements.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Weakens ACA protections by creating a statutory safe harbor for long-duration 'short-term' plans that can compete with ACA marketplace plans without meeting ACA standards"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Health insurance companies offering short-term plans (e.g., major carriers like UnitedHealth, Aetna, National General)
- Healthy individuals seeking cheaper non-ACA coverage
- Insurance brokers selling short-term plans
Likely Burden Bearers
- ACA marketplace plans (face adverse selection as healthy people exit for cheaper plans)
- Individuals with pre-existing conditions (short-term plans can deny coverage)
- Consumers who get sick while on short-term plans (plans don't cover essential benefits, have low caps)
- State insurance regulators (federal law would preempt stricter state limits on short-term plans)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Health insurance coverage provided under a contract with a health insurance issuer that: (A) has an expiration date specified in the contract that is less than 12 months after the original effective date of the contract; and (B) has a duration of not more than 3 years (taking into account renewals or extensions) after the original effective date of the contract.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology