Congressional Republicans have asked HHS to disclose insurance rates for the 34 states where the agency will operate health insurance exchanges under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the top Republican on the Senate's health committee, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) are the lead authors of the letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius objecting to the agency's plan not to release the insurance rate information to the public until September. HHS has said it is currently negotiating with insurers.
"These negotiations have been conducted behind closed doors, without assurances that a fair process has been observed or that the negotiations will result in better insurance products for consumers," the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Ms. Sebelius.
Not releasing the rates until September will also give consumers less time to budget for potentially higher insurance costs, the lawmakers wrote. Open enrollment in the exchanges will begin Oct. 1.
HHS announced earlier this week that insurance premiums for individual policies will cost 18 percent less than expected in 11 states that have opted to run their own exchanges and have released premium information.
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