Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch wants the Obama administration to provide information about a secretive opt-out provision provided to health insurance companies on the federal exchange.
The Utah Republican sent the letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which he said has provided a guarantee that health insurance companies can end their contracts if the federal subsidies are struck down by a forthcoming Supreme Court ruling.
“Late last year, CMS altered the agreements to participate in the federal exchange, guaranteeing insurance companies the right to pull out of their contracts should federal subsidies such … come to an end,” Hatch wrote to CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “In other words, if the Administration loses before the Supreme Court.”
Hatch sent the letter following a letter from Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell indicating the administration has “no plans” to deal with a Supreme Court decision that strikes down the subsidies, which are used by the majority of people enrolled in the health care exchanges. The case challenges the subsidies in states that have not established their own health insurance exchanges.
Hatch is demanding Tavenner provide documentation relating to the opt-out policy provided to insurers.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the case in March.
