By Virgil Dickson | May
31, 2017
A group of 184 lawmakers
want HHS to rescind an Obama-era policy that discouraged insurance companies
from accepting payments from hospitals or other entities to buy insurance on
the exchange for their patients.
The 2013 memo suggested insurers reject payments from hospitals, healthcare providers and commercial entities because those payments were given to people who could skew the risk pool on the exchanges.
Congressmen Wednesday wrote a bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Tom Price saying the policy has resulted in insurers dropping their sickest and low-income enrollees.
"This practice essentially allows insurers to steer patients to the government or to other plans to avoid providing coverage."
Hospitals have been pushing back against the policy for years. In 2016, the American Hospital Association sent a letter to the CMS asking that the policy be reconsidered.
"Access to coverage and routine health care should take precedent over any concerns about the risk pool," the trade group said in the letter.
The lawmakers' letter urges HHS to swiftly issue a new policy that would allow not-for-profit charitable organizations, places of worship and local civic organizations to make premium payments on behalf of enrollees.
The 2013 memo suggested insurers reject payments from hospitals, healthcare providers and commercial entities because those payments were given to people who could skew the risk pool on the exchanges.
Congressmen Wednesday wrote a bipartisan letter to HHS Secretary Tom Price saying the policy has resulted in insurers dropping their sickest and low-income enrollees.
"This practice essentially allows insurers to steer patients to the government or to other plans to avoid providing coverage."
Hospitals have been pushing back against the policy for years. In 2016, the American Hospital Association sent a letter to the CMS asking that the policy be reconsidered.
"Access to coverage and routine health care should take precedent over any concerns about the risk pool," the trade group said in the letter.
The lawmakers' letter urges HHS to swiftly issue a new policy that would allow not-for-profit charitable organizations, places of worship and local civic organizations to make premium payments on behalf of enrollees.
Virgil Dickson reports from Washington on the federal regulatory
agencies. His experience before joining Modern Healthcare in 2013 includes
serving as the Washington-based correspondent for PRWeek and as an
editor/reporter for FDA News. Dickson earned a bachelor's degree from DePaul
University in 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment