WASHINGTON — Congressman John Carney (D-DE) and Congressman Charlie Dent (R-PA) today led a bipartisan group of 75 House members in sending a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. The letter calls for certain changes to be made to the Affordable Care Act enrollment process and Federal Healthcare Exchange website.

Specifically, the letter requests:

- That HHS create a dedicated help line for certified agents and brokers, navigators, marketplace assistors, and state health officials to ensure that problems with enrollment are addressed quickly and effectively. 

- That HHS add an edit function to healthcare.gov that would allow individuals to make changes and fix mistakes with their application without having to restart the process.  Individuals who make input errors on their healthcare.gov applications are currently limited in their ability to correct the problems without deleting their account and starting over. 

- That HHS change the current edit function to enable consumers to add multiple assistors to their account at any stage in the enrollment process. Beyond ensuring that these assistors are compensated for their work, the ability to track who has assisted a consumer with their decision provides accountability and, in the event of any errors or issues with the application, provides important consumer protection.  

“The changes we’re asking for in this letter are aimed at helping make sure that people who want insurance coverage can get it,” said Congressman Carney. “I’ve said all along that no law is perfect, and if there are changes that need to be made to the Affordable Care Act, we should make them. It’s no secret that the Affordable Care Act enrollment process has been slow and frustrating for many. We’re hoping that these few simple improvements will help more people get the coverage they need, when they need it.”

“The signers of this letter obviously have widely disparate views on the efficacy of the Healthcare Law,” said Congressman Dent. “However, they do share a common belief – that a website paid for by the taxpayers should not be so complicated to use that it confuses and frustrates the people it is supposed to be helping. Regardless of our views on the Healthcare Law, the Federal healthcare exchange website has flaws that need to be corrected and this letter encourages the Secretary to make the necessary fixes.” 

Click here for a signed copy of the letter.

 

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