Some members of the healthcare community believe that the regulatory structure in the new health act confers an expost quasi- price control authority to the HHS insurance office. However it should be noted that although Congress addressed federal premium review it also granted considerable discretion to HHS to move towards a joint federal -state partnership (with an emphasis on state) for the review of premiums because of the historical presence of state regulation which is strengthened by an agressive federal grant program to state regulators. Executive Order 12886 requires HHS to make a finding of compelling need prior to moving toward the federal price control scenario.
In order to assist our readers in navigating the IPD, the Premium Review Forum , second only to the homepage, contains an index of the most significant activities underway.
CRE operates a number of Interactive Public Dockets (IPD’s) on a wide range of topics. Based on our experience there is a subset of the total comments received which are potential game changers.
CRE will highlight these comments on the Premium Review Forum.
Nominees include posts in the Library and posts on this page.
Submit your nominees here .
Two higly influential reports have been issued dealing with insurance premiums One study which was authored by the White House: “looks at trends in premiums for American families over the last decade at the state and national level.”
The other study, authored by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation: “… analyzed how health insurance premiums might be affected by enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as proposed by Senator Reid on November 18, 2009.”
CRE has applauded and continues to support Administration activities to increase the transparency of government actions. CRE also appreciates the recognition accorded to its work by the White House.
The President’s Open Government Directive requires federal agencies to work with non-federal groups to increase the transparency of agency activities. To this end we have developed an Interactive Public Docket (IPD) for the newly created HHS office which oversees the insurance industry.
The OMB plays a major role in implementing the Open Government Initiative announced by the President. In particular, OMB in a memorandum to agencies states that: