Photo: Courtesy of AHIP
America's Health Insurance Plans CEO Mike Tuffin held forth on issues from renewing enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies to friction around the surprise billing law during a pen-and-pad last week.
- The remarks have been edited for length and clarity.
Would AHIP oppose another ACA repeal-replace effort?
In any election scenario, we're going to make the case that this market is working and should be supported and strengthened: 22 million people, record choice and competition, increasingly a source of coverage for entrepreneurs and small businesses, increasingly a source of coverage for people in rural communities — farmers, for example.
- So we'll wait and see what the election brings, but we're going to be standing by the value of this marketplace.
How do you counter skepticism from Republicans about extending enhanced ACA subsidies?
If you look at the coalition that has come together to support these tax credits, it's a real broad cross section of the health care community.
- Again, what we see is a real jolt of instability if on December 31, 2025, these policies lapse. That's a lot of people and communities across the country who are going to see their coverage disrupted, their access to care disrupted.
Have you received feedback or any openness from the GOP so far on the subsidies?
I think there's no question that our coalition has a lot of work to do to get this done, and we intend to do that work. Again, we're grateful to be advocating for this in partnership with all those stakeholders. So if you check out that coalition, it's pretty broad, but there's no question we have work to do.
How do you see the surprise billing law playing out so far?
We would like to find a way toward resolution ... this was envisioned as a system that was supposed to be seamless and clear and transparent for all involved, and the abuse of that system by a small number of provider groups backed by private equity is really gumming up the works for all involved.
Are you looking for fixes from Congress on surprise billing?
We would certainly welcome bipartisan interest in ensuring that the surprise billing reform actually lowers health care costs as intended.
Do you have a position on Sen. Ron Wyden and the Finance Committee's "ghost network" bill on provider directories?
Everyone deserves accurate information about the status of their network, who's in it, who's available to them, what the costs are. I don't have a position on that particular piece of legislation, but we welcome the interest in this area, and it's something that needs to be resolved.
