The federal government has granted waivers to four states allowing health insurance companies to continue offering limited benefit policies that are no longer allowed under the new federal health care law.

The states include:

According Steven Larsen, a federal insurance regulator, each of the states (above) had a law, policy or program that required or encouraged health plans to offer limited-benefit coverage.

To qualify for a waiver, a state must prove that compliance with the federal requirement would cause “a significant increase in premiums or a decrease in access to benefits.”