Explaining Why Obama Let More Consumers Buy Catastrophic Plans

KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey was on PBS NewsHour Friday to talk about the Obama administration’s plan to allow people who had their health insurance plans canceled to buy so-called “catastrophic” plans, which that are cheaper than ordinary plans but provide less coverage than others being sold under the Affordable Care Act.

See video of the interview below:

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>Explaining Why Obama Let More Consumers Buy Catastrophic Plans</h1>
<div>	<span class="byline">KFF Health News Editors</span>
		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2013-12-23T11:02:59-05:00">
			December 23, 2013		</time>
		</div>
<p>KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey was on <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/government_programs/july-dec13/healthcare_12-20.html">PBS NewsHour Friday</a> to talk about the Obama administration’s plan to allow people who had their health insurance plans canceled to buy so-called “catastrophic” plans, which that are cheaper than ordinary plans but provide less coverage than others being sold under the Affordable Care Act.</p><p>See video of the interview below:</p><p></p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/explaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/explaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/explaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Explaining%20Why%20Obama%20Let%20More%20Consumers%20Buy%20Catastrophic%20Plans&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2Fnews%2Fexplaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans%2F&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/explaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/explaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans/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://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/explaining-why-obama-let-more-consumers-buy-catastrophic-plans/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=6792&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

Some elements may be removed from this article due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about available photos or other content, please contact NewsWeb@kff.org.

More From KFF Health News