HHS awards $198M to Build Insurance Exchange & Announces $150M in Grants to Health Centers Enrolling Uninsured in New Health Coverage Options

Legislative Activity

House Mandate Votes

Following the U.S. Treasury’s announcement of a one-year delay in the Affordable Care Act employer responsibility requirements, House leadership plans to hold two votes this week to repeal both the employer and individual mandates for one year (H.R. 2667 and H.R. 2668). The move would force House Democrats to go on record for big business versus individuals, potentially putting them at odds with the White House, which has not announced intention to delay the individual mandate.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Tuesday, July 16: The House Committee on Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on “Reforming the Drug Compounding Regulatory Framework.”
• Wednesday, July 17: The Senate Committee on Finance will hold a hearing on “Health Information Technology: A Building Block to Quality Healthcare.” The House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health will hold a hearing on “The Delay of the Employer Mandate Penalties and Reporting Requirements.” The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Health Care and Entitlements will hold a hearing on “Evaluating Privacy, Security, and Fraud Concerns with Obamacare’s Information Sharing Apparatus.”
• Thursday, July 18: The House Committee on Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing on “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implementation in the Wake of Administrative Delay.”
• Friday, July 19: The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing on care and treatment for military sexual trauma.

Executive Branch activity

Treasury Guidance on Employer Mandate Delay

The Treasury Department issued a short guidance document to employers reiterating last week’s blog post delaying the employer mandate. The guidance notes that the delay will go into effect in 2015 and urges employers to prepare by voluntarily covering workers and reporting the relevant income and health insurance data. The guidance also confirmed that individuals who do not get affordable coverage at their jobs next year will receive coverage through the health exchanges.

CCIIO Awards

Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded six states a combined $198 million to build insurance exchanges. Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia – which had already received multimillion-dollar exchange grants – will split the new batch of funds.

HHS Enrollment Assistance Awards

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced “$150 million in grant awards to 1,159 health centers across the nation to enroll uninsured Americans in new health coverage options made available by the Affordable Care Act.”