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Senate, House Dem Leaders Slam Latest Move by Trump to Sabotage Open Enrollment: You Are “Risking Health of Millions”

September 29, 2017

Latest sabotage effort follows: shortening of Open Enrollment period, decreasing staff at call centers, cutting funding for advertisements/outreach, taking Healthcare.gov offline, & much more

Today, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, Bob Casey (D-PA), Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, and Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Representative Richard Neal (D-MA), Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee, called on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price to immediately reverse the harmful directive barring the Department's 10 Regional Offices from appearing at Marketplace Open Enrollment events, less than five weeks before the sign-up season begins.

The Department's directive to halt Regional Office outreach and assistance – made with no explanation or advance notice – deprives community organizations, insurance officials, health care providers, and most critically families of a crucial source of information and contact with staff members who are uniquely positioned to provide the most up-to-date guidance on buying insurance or signing up for Medicaid.

"The Trump Administration's latest effort to sabotage health care will likely lead to additional confusion, creating unnecessary barriers for patients and families seeking to purchase insurance,"wrote Democrats to Sec. Price."The Department has a responsibility to provide consumers, organizations, and local government agencies involved in Marketplace outreach and enrollment with updates and guidance regarding the agency's policies and positions."

Democrats say this directive is the latest attempt by the Trump Administration to make it harder for patients and families to get and keep insurance, which already includes actions to: shorten the Open Enrollment period to 45 days; decrease the number of staff at ACA marketplace call centers; reduce funding for advertising by 90%; reduce funding for the Navigator outreach grant program by over 40%; take Healthcare.govoffline during weekend day-time hours, further reducing the time available for consumers to purchase coverage; and threats to cease cost-sharing reduction payments, which help low-income consumers afford insurance.

"By reducing the available time to purchase – and learn about – health insurance through the ACA Marketplaces, the Trump Administration is risking the health of millions who rely on the individual and small business marketplace for health insurance coverage," Democrats concluded. "We urge you to immediately reconsider and reverse this harmful directive to HHS Regional Offices."

Issues:Health