Letter to the Hon. Tom Price, MD, US Department of Health and Human Services - Stop Sabotaging ACA Enrollment

Letter

Dear Secretary Price:

We are writing to express our extreme concern that Department of Health and Human Services employees may have been ordered not to participate in upcoming Affordable Care Act open enrollment events. If true, this would be just the latest effort to sabotage implementation of the Affordable Care Act but one that can be immediately and easily reversed. We ask that you act immediately to make sure that HHS employees fulfill their responsibilities by providing important enrollment information to our constituents and to Americans across the country. With only 5 weeks before the beginning of the November 1 to December 15 open enrollment period, time is of the essence.

The Trump Administration has already cut the open enrollment period in half, eliminated funding for advertising, and slashed funding for navigators to assist individuals and families. We urge you in the strongest terms to make sure that HHS employees are not only allowed but encouraged to assist Congressional offices, state and local governments, and others in informing the public about their open enrollment options.

Whether you like it or not, the Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land. The Trump Administration is driving up premiums by refusing to commit to making Cost-Sharing Reduction payments and creating uncertainty about enforcement. Now your Department is apparently doing everything possible to prevent access to information and depress enrollment -- efforts that will undoubtedly lead to higher rates of uninsurance and financial problems for hospitals, physicians and other providers.

Again, we demand that you immediately make a public announcement that HHS employees will be available to inform and help Americans take advantage of the upcoming ACA open enrollment period.

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