8 pages. Excerpt: At first glance, limited-benefit plans may seem like a good way to offer previously uninsured people financial protection for a portion of their health care costs. However, the consequences of allowing private insurers to circumvent state benefit mandates can be dire for health care consumers. While some limited-benefit plans only exclude coverage for one or two mandated benefits, others may be extremely skimpy, excluding coverage for many necessary services. This paper describes some of the damaging effects of limited-benefit plans in the private insurance market as well as issues for advocates to consider if policy makers propose to use public dollars to subsidize limited-benefit plans in their state.

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