House Republicans criticized HHS for granting waivers to four states and more than 900 health plans exempting them from certain coverage rules in the federal health reform law.
The waivers allow insurers and employers to continue offering so-called “mini-med” plans, which provide limited coverage to workers at low cost. The waivers are one-year reprieves from the law's requirement that plans provide at least $750,000 in essential benefits.
Republican leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations said at a hearing that the waivers are further proof that the reform law is deeply flawed.
“I think it is an understatement to say that these waivers have been controversial,” said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), subcommittee chairman. “Obamacare was sold as all benefit—no downside.”
Plans granted waivers represent about 2.4 million people, or about 1% of the employer-based coverage market overall, according to HHS. Florida, Tennessee, New Jersey and Ohio were among the waiver recipients.
“The overriding purpose of this waiver program is to ensure that Americans do not lose their health coverage before better health insurance options become available in 2014,” Steven Larsen, director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the CMS, said in prepared testimony.
