Burwell 'manages expectations' for sign-up numbers during health law's next enrollment season

Oct 12 2014

During a breakfast with reporters, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell also signaled that the federal government is unlikely to "step in" to address narrow network issues related to health plans offered on the exchanges 

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Burwell Meets The Press: Managing Expectations On Ebola, Healthcare.gov, ACA Year 2
We're working on it. No matter what the topic -- from improving consumers' experience with healthcare.gov, the health law's Medicaid expansion, narrow networks and even Ebola -- Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell told reporters Thursday her agency is on it. During a breakfast with reporters sponsored by Kaiser Health News and the health policy journal Health Affairs, Burwell tried to manage expectations about the health law's next open enrollment season and declined to make a prediction about how many people would enroll this time around. She also cautioned that we are likely to see the number of Ebola cases rise before the crisis subsides (Carey, 10/9).

CQ Healthbeat: Burwell Appears Reluctant To Add New Network Adequacy Standards
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell signaled Thursday that the federal government is unlikely to step in anytime soon to ensure that health insurers are offering sufficiently broad provider networks or that the lists of providers that plans give to consumers are up-to-date and accurate. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners is already trying to come up with revisions by December to their state law template addressing the issue. The organization is expected to vote on approving the draft and recommending it to state officials next year. NAIC senior health and life policy counsel Jolie Matthews said two weeks ago that the model state law may add requirements for insurers to update their provider lists on a regular basis. Burwell referenced that work in a briefing with reporters when she was asked whether HHS officials will tighten their own standards. The wide-ranging briefing also covered the fight against Ebola, electronic medical records, payments to insurers that are not as profitable as expected, the federal health enrollment website and the upcoming marketplace enrollment period (Adams, 10/9).