According to the report, many Americans are still prey to “junk” insurance plans that provide skimpy insurance coverage. Some plans, called mini-meds, are operated by insurance companies and employers with dispensation from the federal government. Others, known as health discount cards and fixed benefit indemnity plans, are operated from smaller companies and are so meager that regulators do not consider them true health insurance.
Many insurance companies provide mini-med insurance products aimed at workers in industries such as retail, food service and temp agencies. The plans provide extremely limited benefits — often no more than a few thousand dollars a year. Mini-med plans were supposed to be eliminated after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which mandates that health plans not put an annual or lifetime cap on essential health benefits.
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