Americans whose individual policies have been canceled due to ObamaCare can now buy bare-bones, catastrophic-coverage plans or go without insurance entirely under a “hardship exemption” announced by the administration Thursday.
The exemption allows millions of consumers whose insurance was canceled for falling short of ObamaCare’s new standards to make an end run around the program’s central requirement — that most Americans have health insurance by Jan. 1 or face a fine.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced the rule change just days before the Dec. 23 deadline for people to choose plans that will begin New Year’s Day.
President Obama has been lambasted since the fall for reneging on his promise that people who like their health plans could keep them. The new “hardship exemption” is the latest effort to blunt that criticism.
The exemption was announced a day after about a dozen Democratic senators argued that Obama needed to do more to help those with canceled policies.
Health-insurance industry trade groups blasted the change, saying it could cause significant instability in the marketplace.