Committee Leaders Push CMS on Failure to Outline State Exchange and Medicaid Rules

Statement

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA) today pushed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to answer outstanding questions from members of Congress, the Republican Governors Association, and the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD) regarding the health care law's state exchange and Medicaid expansion rules.

"Just last month, the House of Representatives voted to fully repeal the president's health care law. One of the many reasons we continue to support full repeal is the growing concern with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) implementation of the law. The intent of this letter is to follow up on requests made to HHS earlier this year and on requests made more recently by governors and state Medicaid directors in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision -- all of which have gone unanswered. The regulatory uncertainty has crippled states and health providers in their ability to plan for future Medicaid expansions or state insurance exchanges.

"As you know, it has been nearly two and a half years since the president signed his health care plan into law and today, there are 500 days until the major provisions in the law are fully implemented. While it seems Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) intends to delay any major announcements until after November, states do not have the luxury of procrastination. They deserve and need to have the necessary information from your agency to make an informed decision about whether or not to move forward in implementing the president's health care law."

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