About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

GAO-14-305R 1 (2014-03-21)

handle is hein.gao/gaobaahsj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAOU.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20548 March 21, 2014 Congressional Requesters Department of Health and Human Services: Solicitations of Support for Enroll America The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) includes provisions intended to increase the number of Americans who have health care coverage,1 including requiring the establishment of health insurance exchanges-also known as marketplaces-in all states.2 The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plays a key role in implementing PPACA.3 Many nongovernmental entities (hereafter referred to as outside entities) are also involved in activities related to PPACA, including educating consumers about the health coverage options newly available under PPACA and assisting with enrollment. In June 2013, the Secretary of HHS (hereafter referred to as the Secretary) testified that she solicited support on behalf of Enroll America, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to maximize the number of uninsured Americans who enroll in health coverage made available by PPACA.4 However, certain facts surrounding HHS's activities to solicit support for outside entities engaged in PPACA-related activities were unclear. You asked that we develop information on HHS's activities to solicit support on behalf of outside entities engaged in activities related to the implementation of PPACA. We are providing information on the facts surrounding solicitations of support made by HHS officials for outside entities engaged in activities related to PPACA and the actions taken by HHS officials to inform their decisions to make such solicitations. To obtain the information we present here, we reviewed written responses from HHS to questions we asked about its solicitations of support since the enactment of PPACA in March 2010 and documentation related to those activities, including e-mail correspondence and internal memoranda. We also reviewed HHS's written responses to questions on the actions taken to inform their decisions to make solicitations and related documentation, including written guidance provided by HHS's Office of General Counsel (OGC). To supplement these reviews, 1Pub. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010), as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), Pub. L. No. 111-152,124 Stat. 1029 (2010). For purposes of this report, references to PPACA include the amendments made by HCERA. 2Health insurance exchanges are marketplaces where eligible individuals can compare and select among plans offered by participating private issuers of health coverage. 3For example, PPACA requires HHS to approve the establishment of health insurance exchanges in each state and, in states not establishing an exchange, to establish and operate exchanges in these states. In 2014, HHS's Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is operating federally facilitated exchanges in 34 states. CMS conditionally approved proposals from the remaining 17 states (including the District of Columbia) to operate state-based exchanges in 2014. 4U.S. Congress, Reviewing the President's Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Proposal for the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Before the House Education and the Workforce Committee, transcript (Washington, DC: Federal News Service, Inc., June 4,2013), accessed through LexisNexis Congressional January 16, 2014. 113th Cong. (2013) (statement of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius). GAO-14-305R Page 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most