Report on Testing Consumer Understanding of a Short-Term Health Insurance Plan

“A new report from Kleimann Communication Group shows that consumers face significant challenges in understanding short-term plan coverage benefits and limitations. This lack of understanding—especially when coupled with insurers’ aggressive marketing of short-term plans— raises concerns that some consumers are inadvertently enrolling in short-term plans when doing so may not be appropriate for their health needs or financial situation.

The report, commissioned by a group of consumer representatives to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), found that most consumers struggled to understand the marketing brochure for a popular, six-month short-term plan. Many misunderstood even the basic concept of a short-term plan, in part because most consumers now expect their health insurance to reflect the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections.”