Legal Council for Health Justice Issues Public Comment on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Proposed Rule

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- Meghan P. Carter, senior staff attorney at the Legal Council for Health Justice, Chicago, Illinois, has issued a public comment on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed rule entitled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond Proposed Rule". The comment was written on July 27, 2021, and posted on July 28, 2021:

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I am writing on behalf of the Legal Council for Health Justice (Legal Council) in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Request for Public Input: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Updating Payment Parameters, Section 1332 Waiver Implementing Regulations, and Improving Health Insurance Markets for 2022 and Beyond Proposed Rule.

At Legal Council, we serve people impacted by chronic, disabling and stigmatizing health conditions through three medical-legal partnership programs. We provide specialized, free legal services in cooperation with health and community providers to maximize access to good health, education and a responsible safety net and no particular immigration status is required for access to our service. We also conduct significant outreach, education, and training to our health and social service partners and directly to the communities we serve on legal issues related to government services, accessing healthcare and coverage, and chronic and serious illness.

Issue No. 1 - Enrollment Periods

We strongly support proposals to give people more time to apply for coverage and select a health plan. Our work on behalf of our clients constantly demonstrates to us how confusing, overwhelming, and intimidating this process can be. As such, we recommend that the Administration extend the deadline even further beyond January 15. For these same reasons, we also encourage the creation of a special enrollment period that gives low-income people additional time to sign up for health coverage. Any additional steps that can be taken to simplify enrollment are also welcome and needed.

Issue No. 2 - Navigator Programs

Again, our work and experience with helping individuals and families impacted by chronic health conditions constantly reminds us how much help people need enrolling in health care. We have also seen firsthand that the Navigator Program is an invaluable tool in helping connect people with health coverage. Navigators provide consumers with unbiased assistance in choosing a plan, explaining how deductibles and co-pays work, and guidance on complicated issues such as how to research drug formularies, filing appeals, and where to go for further assistance.

Navigators use their knowledge and expertise to help clients in very daunting situations. We have seen firsthand that our clients benefit from receiving this professional, unbiased assistance from Navigators. We strongly support funding Navigators and cultivating a robust Navigator Program.

Issue No. 3 - Section 1332 Guardrails

Finally, we encourage CMS to establish strong protections by restoring the guardrails around Section 1332 waivers. Without these protections, states could use Section 1332 to take away coverage or force people into high-cost health plans (and, indeed, did seek to do so during the last presidential administration). States should not be permitted to use 1332 waivers to undermine the ACA. The Biden Administration should act now to ensure that Section 1332 waivers are not exploited in the future, causing people to lose health coverage.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Legal Council has seen that expanding enrollment opportunities and funding Navigators further our clients' health, and that strong guardrails on Section 1332 waivers help our nation. We strongly urge the Biden Administration to make health insurance easier to access.

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about or need any further information on these comments.

Sincerely,

Meghan P. Carter

Senior Staff Attorney

Legal Council for Health Justice

17 N. State Street, Suite 900

Chicago, Illinois 60602

[email protected]

(312) 605-1979

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The proposed rule can be viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov/document/CMS-2021-0113-0002

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