Congress quietly expands short-term health plans that dodge ACA protections
H.R. 6420 — ACCESS Act · Filed by Max Miller (R-OH) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 4, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends federal health insurance law to formally define and regulate 'short-term limited duration insurance' (STLDI)—temporary health plans lasting up to 3 years that are designed to fill gaps when people switch jobs or coverage. The bill requires these plans to offer guaranteed renewability (the right to renew) and applies certain consumer protections from the Affordable Care Act to them. The stated intent is to give small businesses and individuals more affordable, flexible coverage options.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative effect is to create a formal regulatory pathway for short-term plans that have historically operated outside ACA consumer protections. While framed as 'access' and 'affordability,' the mechanism is definitional—establishing STLDI as a distinct category and then applying only limited ACA rules (guaranteed renewability) while leaving out critical protections like benefit mandates and pre-existing condition exclusion bans.
What the text implies
- STLDI plans are not required to cover preventive services, mental health parity, or contraception—core ACA mandates. Consumers may believe they have ACA-level protection when they do not.
- The bill does not prohibit medical underwriting or pre-existing condition exclusions in STLDI plans, meaning insurers can deny or price-load high-risk individuals, contrary to ACA protections.
- Guaranteed renewability applies only at the individual's election; insurers can still refuse to renew if the individual does not opt in at enrollment, creating a trap for consumers unaware of the requirement.
- STLDI plans may cannibalize enrollment in ACA marketplace plans, which pool healthy and sick enrollees. If healthier individuals migrate to cheaper STLDI, marketplace premiums for remaining enrollees (often sicker, older, lower-income) may rise.
- Small businesses using STLDI for employees may avoid ACA employer mandate compliance, shifting cost and risk to workers who lose continuity and comprehensive coverage.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill creates a new regulatory category that may expand affordable coverage options for people in transition, but STLDI plans historically exclude people with pre-existing conditions, offer minimal benefits, and lack ACA protections like preventive care coverage or out-of-pocket limits. Guaranteed renewability is a consumer protection, but the bill does not require STLDI plans to meet ACA benefit standards, leaving consumers vulnerable to inadequate coverage.
Who stands to gain
- health insurance issuers (especially those specializing in short-term/limited-benefit plans)
- small businesses seeking to reduce health benefit costs
- insurance brokers and agents selling STLDI products
Named in the bill
Public Health Service Act, Affordable Care Act (ACA), Health insurance issuers, Small businesses, Individual market, Section 2791 (42 U.S.C. 300gg–91), Section 2703 (42 U.S.C. 300gg–2), House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Dec 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Dec 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,670,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 33 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Max Miller, the sponsor, reported $721,249 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Nfib (national Federation of Independent Business) — $1,670,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,237 characters) on Aug 15, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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