The Subcommittee on Health, chaired by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), has scheduled a hearing for Monday, July 28, 2014, at 4 p.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Protecting Americans from Illegal Bailouts and Plan Cancellations Under the President’s Health Care Law." Witnesses to be announced.
“Broken promises and executive overreach have become synonymous with the president’s health care law. As the White House continues to ignore the harsh realities of this law, we remain committed to solutions that protect the American people," said Pitts.
The Subcommittee will review proposals to address the potential of unlawful payments to insurance companies under the health care law’s risk corridor program. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has questioned the ability of the administration to issue payments through the health care law’s risk corridor program. The administration has recently argued that the risk corridor program would function as a user fee, but risk corridors were not listed as a user fee in the president’s own FY 2015 budget, released earlier this year.
Subcommittee members will also review H.R. 3522, the Employee Health Care Protection Act, introduced by Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA). This bill would help protect employees from President Obama’s broken promise that, “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. Period." H.R. 3522 would allow health insurance currently available on the group market to continue to be offered, providing the opportunity for Americans who purchase health plans on the group market to keep the health care plans they currently have and like.as they are posted.
