Three Republican lawmakers are asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for a comparison of exchange plan and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits.
Section 2101 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) requires the HHS secretary to complete an exchange plan-CHIP comparison by April 1, 2015, and to certify which of the exchange "qualified health plans" (QHPs) are comparable in terms of benefits and out-of-pocket costs to CHIP coverage.
Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, has joined with Sen. Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Rep. Joseph Pitts, R-Pa., chairman of the House Energy & Commerce health subcommittee, to ask HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell where the children's coverage analysis is.
The lawmakers note in a letter to Burwell that PPACA lets states enroll children eligible for CHIP in HHS-certified QHPs after Sept. 30, 2015.
