Kicking off the election year of 2012, leading Congressional Republicans have fired off a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius questioning her use of a bulletin last month rather than a proposed rule to describe essential health benefits standards.
They argued that by issuing a bulletin instead of a proposed rule, the Administration "sidestepped" the more arduous process of publishing a cost benefit analysis estimating the impact of the mandates on health insurance premiums.
The matter smacks of avoidance of hard economic issues relating to health care costs to the Congressmen, who refer to the Patient Portection and Affordable Care Act as Obamacare.
"Additionally, the Administration has avoided publishing a list of unfunded mandates on states and the private sector by issuing a 'bulletin'' rather than a proposed rule and has also avoided publishing a list of regulatory alternatives. Finally, the Administration is not required to respond to comments received regarding this 'bulletin.' Publishing a 'bulletin' rather a proposed rule is the antithesis of an 'open and transparent' process," the Congressmen wrote
The letter was signed by Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline, R-Minn. and their counterparts in the Senate, Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee.
