U.S. Court of Appeals Upholds Short-Term Limited Duration Insurance Final Rule

As background, on August 1, 2018, the Departments released a final rule that amended the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI). HHS also released a fact sheet on the final rule.

The final rule allows consumers to purchase STLDI policies that are less than 12 months in length and may be renewed for up to 36 months. On July 18, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (District Court) upheld the STLDI final rule. The court found that the final rule did not exceed the regulatory authority that Congress delegated to the Departments to define STLDI as a category of insurance that is exempt from individual insurance regulations.

The ruling was appealed. On July 17, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Court of Appeals) upheld the  STLDI final rule. The Court of Appeals found that the final rule defining the duration of STLDI up to 364 days and exempting STLDI from the individual insurance regulations did not exceed the regulatory authority that Congress delegated to the Departments.

Read more about the STLDI final rule.