Representative Sam Graves (R-MO), Chairman of the House Small Business Committee sent a letter this week to
Marilyn Tavenner, acting Secretary of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, asking for an explanation on the delay in the implementation of the
“employee choice” model in the new small business exchanges scheduled to launch
next year.
Earlier this month, HHS announced that employee
choice would not be available in the federal-run SHOP exchanges until 2015.
States that plan to set up their own exchanges may choose to delay this aspect
of SHOP implementation as well. This delay in implementation raises some flags,
as employee choice within the exchange was one of the health reform law’s most
popular selling points as it gives the employee greater flexibility in choosing
a plan that best suits them.
“If one of the key goals of supporters of the
health care law was to provide small business owners with a competitive process
by which they could select from a number of affordable health insurance plans
for their employees, then that goal is not in sight,” wrote Representative
Graves.
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