Why is Congress Ignoring a Health Care Cost Saver Hiding in Plain Sight?

Most families feel squeezed every time they look at their health insurance bill. Premiums keep climbing, choices keep shrinking, and Washington keeps pretending that Obamacare is the only game in town. It is not. Congress can act right now to make health insurance about 60 percent less expensive for millions of people. The solution already exists. Lawmakers only need to lock it in.

A few years ago, the Trump administration created a regulation that allowed people to buy short term renewable health plans. These plans look a lot like the coverage people had before Obamacare: broad networks, competitive pricing, and the freedom to choose what works for a family rather than what satisfies a federal mandate. For many people, these plans cost less than half the price of the cheapest Obamacare option.

This case is laid out in detail in a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Michael F. Cannon, who explains how the Trump rule lowered premiums and expanded choice for people stuck with unaffordable coverage. Cannon argues that Congress can make health insurance affordable for millions of Americans without new spending simply by codifying that 2018 rule into law.

For a middle class family that does not qualify for giant subsidies, that difference is real money. It is the difference between saving for a home or falling behind. It is the difference between hiring an extra worker or delaying growth. It is the difference between being able to breathe financially or being stuck with a mandate you cannot afford.

The Biden administration moved to choke off these plans because they threaten the artificial monopoly created by Obamacare. Instead of competing with better service and lower prices, Washington prefers to ban the alternatives. That is wrong. Americans deserve every option available to make their own decisions about health care.

Congress has a simple opportunity right now. Lawmakers can codify the Trump rule and make these affordable plans available again. This would protect families from regulatory whiplash. It would give people real choices. It would create a functioning market, not a mandated cartel.

This is not a complex reform. It does not require a thousand page bill. It only requires Congress to say that Americans should have the right to buy health insurance that works for them at a price they can afford.

If Congress cares about working families, this is the easiest place to start.

It is time to give Americans back the freedom to choose health insurance that does not break the bank.