Every month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services releases its latest statistics for how many people have enrolled for coverage through HealthCare.gov. But if a new bill goes through the necessary hoops in order to be signed into law, HHS will be more regular with those updates.
The U.S. House of Representatives is set to begin debate on House Bill 3362, according to insurance news website BenefitsPro. Introduced by Republican lawmakers, the legislation would mandate HHS to release enrollment activity numbers through the federal exchange website every week rather than once every 30 to 31 days.
According to the latest numbers released from HHS, from October through December, 2.2 million people have selected plans from the state and federal marketplaces.
"Americans are finding quality affordable coverage in the marketplace, and best of all, because coverage began on New Year's Day, the promise and hope of the Affordable Care Act is now a reality," said Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary. "Our outreach efforts have ramped up, so whether it's through public service announcements, events, our champions or other means, we are doing all we can to find, inform and enroll those who can benefit from the marketplace."
The Obama administration has set a goal of enrolling 7 million people who don't have employee benefits by Mar. 31.
Though many lawmakers and health care experts say that H.R. 3362 would provide greater transparency, the bill does not have the support of the White House. It issued a statement, saying that the more frequent reporting requirement is unnecessary and would add costs to the health care system that aren't paid for. The only way to implement it on a cost-neutral basis is through more funding, which the Congress hasn't granted.
