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The Trump administration can continue to move ahead with its expansion of certain health plans that don’t comply with the Affordable Care Act, under a decision Friday by a federal judge. The ruling in Washington by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon dismissed a lawsuit by a plaintiff who had argued a Trump administration expansion of the so-called short-term health plans undermined the ACA. The plans are generally lower priced but can deny coverage based on consumers’ pre-existing health conditions. They also don’t have to cover the same benefits as ACA-compliant plans. (Armour, 7/19)

"Not only is any potential negative impact from the 2018 rule minimal, but its benefits are undeniable," Leon wrote about the regulations. The plans aims to "minimize the harm and expense" for individuals who might otherwise decide not to purchase insurance because of high premiums, Leon added.  (Hellmann, 7/19)

He said Congress' effective axing of Obamacare's individual mandate penalty for the uninsured makes the option for cheaper plans more desirable, since more people would likely forgo insurance rather than pay for expensive premiums in the Affordable Care Act's exchanges. Leon acknowledged that the ACA established "interdependent" reforms designed to work together throughout the individual market. But he also pointed out that the law exempted many types of health insurance and grandfathered in certain state-specific risk pools. (Luthi, 7/19)

The ruling represents a win for the administration, which recently has suffered a string of setbacks in court over its efforts to chip away at the Affordable Care Act and to reduce health care costs. Short-term plans, which have been available for years and were originally designed to fill a temporary gap in coverage, are typically cheaper than Obamacare policies. But that's because they are allowed to exclude those with pre-existing conditions and base rates on an applicant's medical history, unlike Obamacare plans. (Luhby, 7/19)

One of the plaintiffs, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, said it plans to appeal the ruling. “We think this is arbitrary and capricious on the part of the administration, and that it does not comply with Congress’s intent in the Affordable Care Act,” said Meg Murray, chief executive officer of ACAP, which represents nonprofit safety-net health plans. (Harris and Tozzi, 7/19)

The development came after other courts struck down several Trump administration health policy actions. Those include expanding association health plans that do not have to comply with the 2010 law, requiring some Medicaid enrollees to work and, most recently, telling pharmaceutical companies to include the list prices of certain drugs in television advertisements. (McIntire, 7/19)