Massachusetts Law Reform Institute Issues Public Comment on HHS Proposed Rule

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 -- Victoria Pulos, senior health law attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Boston, has issued a public comment on the Department of Health and Human Services proposed rule entitled "Securing Updated and Necessary Statutory Evaluations Timely". The comment was written on Dec. 4, 2020, and posted on Dec. 8, 2020:

* * *

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) is a not for profit statewide poverty law and policy center that seeks to advance laws, policies, and practices that secure economic, racial, and social justice for low-income people and communities. https://www.mlri.org/. MLRI's health care practice focuses on assuring low income and underserved populations access to affordable health care coverage through Medicaid, CHIP, and Advanced Premium Tax Credits. Its health care attorneys provide assistance to legal aid offices throughout the state on cases involving eligibility and access to services. We strongly oppose this proposal and the short 30 day time period on which to comment. This rule requires a burdensome and unnecessary review process to retain the regulatory underpinnings for essential health programs regulated by HHS. It will divert HHS resources away from addressing far more important challenges most notably the COVID 19 public health emergency. We urge you to withdraw this rule.

HHS itself estimates that within the first two years, it will need to assess at least 2,480 sets of regulations which, based on the proposed rule's unusual definition of a regulation, will minimally require review of 12,400 regulations that are over 10 years old. This will be a massive undertaking that will divert the agency's ability to focus on current problems and current regulations needing modification.

It was ten years ago in March 2010 that Congress passed the Affordable Care Act. Many of the provisions affecting low and moderate income residents such as the expansion of Medicaid and the introduction of Advance Premium Tax Credits took effect in 2014. It was during that period from 2010-2014 that many key implementing regulations were promulgated, many of which would be slated to expire under the proposed rule unless reviewed in the next several years. Were these regulations to expire, states, providers, managed care plans and consumers would have no clear guidance on a host of implementation issues essential to the smooth operation of existing programs.

In Massachusetts, over 300,000 low adults are insured through the ACA's Medicaid expansion and over 280,000 low and moderate income individuals can afford to purchase private insurance with the help of the ACA's premium tax credits. The stability and smooth functioning of these successful programs will be jeopardized if HHS does not divert resources to engage in the unnecessary review required by these proposed regulations.

Were this proposed rule to be adopted, important regulations may be arbitrarily rescinded because there are simply not enough HHS staff or resources to undertake such a sweeping review process leaving gaping holes in the regulatory framework implementing HHS programs and policies. In fact, this proposal is contrary to the Administrative Procedure Act's (APA) requirements for rulemaking. In the APA, Congress established clear procedures and standards for agencies seeking to modify or rescind a rule. The APA requires agencies to go through the same rulemaking process to revise or rescind a rule as they would for a new rule, with public notice and the opportunity to comment.

This rule is unnecessary, will seriously disrupt current HHS program operations at the state level, and will distract HHS resources from more critical issues like the COVID-19 pandemic. MLRI strongly opposes this rule, and urges HHS to withdraw it as ill-advised and ill-timed.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Victoria Pulos,

Senior Health Law Attorney,

[email protected]

* * *

The proposed rule can be viewed at: https://beta.regulations.gov/document/HHS-OS-2020-0012-0001

TARGETED NEWS SERVICE (founded 2004) features non-partisan 'edited journalism' news briefs and information for news organizations, public policy groups and individuals; as well as 'gathered' public policy information, including news releases, reports, speeches. For more information contact MYRON STRUCK, editor, [email protected], Springfield, Virginia; 703/304-1897; https://targetednews.com