The American Hospital Association (AHA) joined seven other national organizations in praising two U.S. senators for introducing a bill aimed at stabilizing the health insurance marketplace.
The AHA said in a release it supports the recent legislation introduced by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and is encouraging Congress to take action on the bill, which has support from both Republicans and Democrats.
The AHA release said the bill would provide short funding for cost-sharing reductions, expand access to lower-cost, catastrophic health plans, give states more flexibility to use 1332 waivers and provide states with outreach and education funding. The legislation would also facilitate the sale of insurance products across state lines by allowing the Department of Health and Human Services to issue regulations for such sales.
The AHA urged Congress “to take action to enact legislation that includes continued funding for CSR benefits for the rest of 2017 and for at least the next two years (2018-2019),” the release said.
Other groups supporting the bill are America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Benefits Council, American Medical Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Federation of American Hospitals and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the release said.
