June 9, 2016

The Honorable Sylvia Mathews Burwell
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20201

Dear Secretary Burwell,

We are writing to urge the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release the official 2017 Affordable Care Act (ACA) state premium rates ahead of November 1 as currently scheduled. Across the country, Americans feel the pressure of increased out-of-pocket costs under the ACA. In 2016, many state exchanges experienced premium rate hikes, the majority of which were in the double digits. Ahead of 2017, consumers deserve to know if this trend will continue and be able to plan accordingly.

Since the implementation of the ACA, out-of-pocket costs have continued to rise. With insurers like UnitedHealth pulling out of many state exchanges, we expect this trend to continue, leading to higher costs and fewer options. These increased costs put a burden on consumers, small businesses, and ultimately the American economy as a whole. If the point of the ACA was to make Americans feel secure by having access to affordable healthcare coverage, it is currently failing. Already, we have seen many insurers filing proposed premiums for ACA plans that contain significant increases for 2017. Currently, requested rate increases for New York range from 6.9 percent to an astonishing 89.1 percent. By withholding the final approved rates until November, HHS is failing to be transparent about information Americans rely on to make informed healthcare decisions.

Two months is simply not enough time for patients and businesses that rely on health insurance to consider their coverage options and plan for yet another increase in their healthcare costs. To keep healthcare affordable and maintain competition in the health insurance market, we need to stop hiding the failures of the ACA and instead begin considering ways to fix this broken policy that is unfairly impacting patients.

Sincerely,

David Williams, President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance

Matthew Kandrach, Executive Vice President
60 Plus Association

Phil Kerpen, President
American Commitment

Brent Wm. Gardner, Vice President of Government Affairs
Americans for Prosperity

Grover Norquist, President
Americans for Tax Reform

Norm Singleton, President
Campaign for Liberty

Andrew F. Quinlan, President
Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Jeff Mazzella, President,
Center for Individual Freedom

Thomas Schatz, President
Council for Citizens Against Government Waste

Adam Brandon, President and CEO
FreedomWorks

Andresen Blom, Executive Director
Grassroot Hawaii Action

Andrew Langer, President
Institute for Liberty

Seton Motley, President
Less Government

Gregory T. Angelo, President
Log Cabin Republicans

Karen Kerrigan, President and CEO
SBE Council
 

cc:

The Honorable Lamar Alexander
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

The Honorable Orin Hatch
Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance

The Honorable Fred Upton
Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce