WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders on Monday sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DoJ), requesting information regarding the administration’s discussions and efforts to settle lawsuits over shortfalls under the risk corridors program. The letter follows an Obamacare hearing and a September letter to CMS requesting information regarding the administration’s invitation to settle lawsuits regarding the risk corridors program. The letter was signed by full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joseph Pitts (R-PA), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA), Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ), and Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA).
In the September Obamacare hearing, Rep. Griffith asked acting CMS head Andy Slavitt for additional details on the litigation concerning risk corridors by September 16. When Slavitt failed to respond to Rep. Griffith’s questions, the committee sent a letter to HHS Secretary Burwell reiterating the request. CMS did not respond, however, until October 19. CMS’s largely-incomplete response failed to provide the requested information and instead directed the committee to the DOJ, which represents CMS in this litigation. The committee has also requested briefings and documents from the insurance companies suing the administration.
“Despite our understanding of the parameters that typically govern settlement decisions, and our assessment of the strength of the Government’s position in this litigation, as forcefully presented by the DOJ itself, the Committee is concerned that the administration may use the settlement process to do exactly what Congress has twice prohibited-use taxpayer dollars to bail out insurance companies from losses sustained under the PPACA," wrote Upton, Pitts, Murphy, Lance, and Griffith. “Using the Judgment Fund, a permanent appropriation for certain types of judgments, to make Risk Corridors payments to insurers through settlement would circumvent Congressional intent to prohibit the expenditure of federal funds on this program."
The leaders requested that the DoJ produce documents and information regarding the risk corridors lawsuits, including communications with CMS and HHS.
Read a signed copy of the DoJ letter HERE.
Read the committee’s Sept. 20, 2016, letter to HHS Sec. Burwell HERE.
Read the committee’s October 4, 2016, letters to insurance companies requesting briefings and documents HERE.
