WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) issued the following statement ahead of Wednesday’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing, “PPACA Enrollment and the Insurance Industry." The subcommittee tomorrow will hear from some of the nation’s largest insurance providers and their trade groups on the status of the implementation of the president’s health care law and detailed enrollment information compiled by the committee.
“The administration continues to leave too many questions about its health care law unanswered. As it attempts to claim that everything is fixed, throwing Hollywood parties at the White House to celebrate the law’s success, the reality on the ground is that this law’s broken promises have caused enormous costs for families and businesses across the country. The White House repeatedly stonewalled Congress and the public as we fought for the complete picture of how the law is working. After months of excuses, we took the administration’s advice and asked the insurance providers themselves for basic enrollment figures. Tomorrow’s hearing will allow us to further explore the status of implementation and provide greater transparency and certainty moving forward. What can we expect premiums to be next year? Will more people lose the health care plans they have and like? These are the questions that will impact the American people the most and they deserve answers."
NOTE: The committee sent letters to every insurance provider in the federally facilitated marketplace as listed on HealthCare.gov requesting detailed enrollment information that the administration has failed to compile or release. As of April 15, the committee learned that just 67 percent of individuals and families who had selected a plan in the FFM had paid their first month’s premium. The committee has sought an update to this data by May 20 to account for premiums or other enrollment changes that have occurred in recent weeks, recognizing the repeated delays and changes in the enrollment deadlines and requirements.
