Energy and Commerce Democratic leaders sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma today raising serious questions over the Administration’s plans to roll back funding for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Navigators program and to slash funding for open enrollment marketing and advertising by 90 percent. In the letter, the members express concern that the deep cuts are part of an ongoing, coordinated effort by the Trump Administration to intentionally depress enrollment and destabilize the health insurance markets.
The letter was signed by Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), and full Committee Vice Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-FL).
“We are concerned that the Administration’s decision to cut funding for the Navigator program is driven neither by concerns regarding the effectiveness of Navigators nor by a desire to safeguard taxpayer dollars," the members wrote in their letter. “Rather, it appears that the decision fits within a pattern of Administration efforts to depress enrollment and sabotage the ACA, including the decision to pull advertising during the final days of open enrollment in January 2017, as well as the use of public funds to conduct an ongoing propaganda campaign designed to damage public opinion of the ACA."
Last month, the Trump Administration announced its intention to cut funding for the Navigator program by over 40 percent and to tie funding levels to how closely Navigators came to meeting their “enrollment targets" for 2017. Navigators serve a crucial role in reducing the uninsured rate by helping uninsured individuals overcome obstacles to signing up for coverage including difficulty understanding plan choices, language barriers, and limited access to the Internet. Once individuals have signed up, Navigators may help enrollees obtain tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies and assist with filing appeals when necessary. Limiting funding for the program will likely decrease the number of people who sign up for coverage and stay enrolled.
According to reports, Navigators have yet to receive funding from the Administration and may not receive it until September 30th. As a result, Navigators are being forced to lay off staff, cancel outreach work, and even shutdown just two months before the start of Open Enrollment.
The Administration also announced plans to slash the open enrollment advertising budget from $100 million to $10 million. In the letter, the members cite a study that found 4 in 10 uninsured individuals are not aware of open enrollment or the Marketplace, which reinforces concerns that without a vigorous advertising campaign many potential enrollees may miss the deadline to sign up for coverage.
As part of their inquiry, the members are requesting answers from the Administration on a series of questions including:
* Did the Administration reverse an earlier decision to fully fund Open Enrollment outreach? If so, who was responsible for reversing this decision and imposing a 40 percent cut on funding for the Navigator program?
* What is the reason for the delay in distributing this year’s grants to Navigators?
* When will grant funds become available to Navigators?
* How does CMS intend to use the funds that it is diverting from the Navigator program?
* Please provide a detailed plan of how CMS intends to ensure robust enrollment, despite the shortened open enrollment period, cuts in advertising, and reductions in funding for Navigators.
* Please provide all research and analyses anticipating the impact that cutting funding to Navigators and marketing and advertising will have on Marketplace enrollment for the 2018 open enrollment period, as well as for subsequent open enrollment periods.
* Please provide all research and analyses as to how Administration officials determined that “most Americans are aware of the [ACA] at this point" to justify its decision to cut the marketing budget by 90 percent.
The members are requesting a response from the Administration by September 25th.
