Should California Prohibit 'Skinny' Health Insurance Plans From Large Employers?

California lawmakers are considering a proposal to prohibit large employers from offering workers “skinny” health plans in California.

AB 248 by Assembly member Roger Hernández (D-West Covina) would prevent companies with 50 or more workers from offering insurance plans that cover less than 60% of the cost of essential care.

Under federal and state law, limited benefit — or “skinny” — plans are not allowed in the individual and small group markets. This bill aims to close the large employer loophole in California.

Similar legislation by Hernandez was approved by the Legislature last year but vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D).

We asked legislators, consumer advocates, employers and insurers to weigh in on the proposal. We received responses from:

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

<h1>Should California Prohibit ‘Skinny’ Health Insurance Plans From Large Employers?</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2015-06-22T03:00:00-07:00">
			June 22, 2015		</time>
		</div>
<p>California lawmakers are considering a proposal to prohibit large employers from offering workers “skinny” health plans in California.</p><p><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160AB248">AB 248</a> by Assembly member Roger Hernández (D-West Covina) would prevent companies with 50 or more workers from offering insurance plans that cover less than 60% of the cost of essential care.</p><p>Under federal and state law, limited benefit — or “skinny” — plans are not allowed in the individual and small group markets. This bill aims to close the large employer loophole in California.</p><p>Similar legislation by Hernandez was approved by the Legislature last year but vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D).</p><p>We asked legislators, consumer advocates, employers and insurers to weigh in on the proposal. We received responses from:</p><ul><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/should-california-prohibit-skinny-health-insurance-plans-from-large-employers/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/should-california-prohibit-skinny-health-insurance-plans-from-large-employers/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/should-california-prohibit-skinny-health-insurance-plans-from-large-employers/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Should%20California%20Prohibit%20%27Skinny%27%20Health%20Insurance%20Plans%20From%20Large%20Employers%3F&body=https%3A%2F%2Fcaliforniahealthline.org%2Fnews%2Fshould-california-prohibit-skinny-health-insurance-plans-from-large-employers%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/should-california-prohibit-skinny-health-insurance-plans-from-large-employers/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/should-california-prohibit-skinny-health-insurance-plans-from-large-employers/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://californiahealthline.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p>

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