House members urge HHS to change QHP third-party payment policy

Nearly 200 House members today urged Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to require qualified health plans to accept premium and cost-sharing assistance provided to patients by nonprofit charitable organizations, places of worship and local civic organizations. The representatives expressed concern that a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ 2014 interim final rule on third-party payment of QHP premiums has “encouraged QHPs to discriminate against Americans with rare diseases, chronic illnesses and other catastrophic conditions by rejecting them on the basis of the insurance premium and cost-sharing assistance that they receive from nonprofit organizations.” AHA has urged CMS to require QHPs to accept third-party premium and cost-sharing payments from hospitals, hospital-affiliated foundations and other charitable organizations.