Washington, DC
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, again urged House leaders Thursday to hold bipartisan hearings focused on ways to stabilize the health insurance market and move forward with policies that benefit all Americans.
Neal, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, renewed his call for Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, to take action to address health care system uncertainty — particularly, ahead of the upcoming Affordable Care Act open enrollment period.
“Americans want Congress to put partisanship behind us and move forward with commonsense initiatives on health care that benefit all American families,” the congressman said in a statement. “A bipartisan hearing would be a good first step to help stabilize individual insurance markets, lower health insurance premiums, shore up exchanges, and protect Medicaid.”
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Sander Levin, D-Michigan, meanwhile, argued that panel lawmakers must not ignore their responsibility to strengthen the individual insurance markets — something which he argued have been hurt by President Donald Trump and Republicans’ pledges to dismantle the ACA.
“Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have begun to undertake such an effort. We should too,” he said in a joint statement with Neal.
The renewed call for action on health care, came one week after Neal led panel Democrats in urging Brady to work toward stabilizing ACA insurance markets.
Contending that stability is needed for a well-functioning insurance market and for consumers, they offered that everyone can “agree that issues need to be addressed to strengthen the individual market for consumers.”
“We look forward to working with you, as we have done this year on certain Medicare payment issues, to make affordable health insurance available to all Americans,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to the Ways and Means chairman. “Bipartisan hearings in our committee would represent a healthy start toward that goal.”
The Senate Health Committee has begun holding hearings and working on a bipartisan bill that seeks to stabilize ACA markets, fund cost-sharing reductions and provide flexibility to states seeking waivers for Obamacare regulations, according to The Hill.
Open enrollment for plans offered on the ACA marketplace will begin on Nov. 1 and run through Dec. 15. Coverage sold during that period will start on Jan. 1, 2018.
