Schakowsky leads lawmakers in demanding answers for individuals living with HIV and AIDS
Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky led eight of her Democratic colleagues in a letter to Roger Severino, Director of the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In the letter, members of Congress ask OCR to take a close look at complaints regarding the discriminatory practices of insurers. These complaints lay out disturbing evidence that shows how insurers may have violated anti-discrimination laws by, for example, placing vital HIV/AIDS medications in higher cost-sharing tiers in comparison to other, similar drugs. The insurers engaged in such practices cannot claim business necessity, as the complaints identify other ACA plans that are playing by the rules with fair benefit design. Discriminatory insurance practices such as these would be illegal and severely limit insurance plan options for individuals living with HIV and AIDS. The practices would also further destabilize the insurance market by raising costs for insurers who don’t discriminate against consumers. In the letter, the Members wrote:
“We are writing to urge the Office of Civil Rights to carefully review and respond to administrative complaints filed by AIDS organizations in eight states regarding potential discriminatory behavior by Marketplace insurers. […] In short, it is manifestly evident that the enforcement of a fair playing field among insurers – free from discrimination against vulnerable, chronically ill people – promotes Marketplace stability during a time when such efforts are a priority for Congress.”
The Members closed the letter by relaying their concern over the delay in addressing these important complaints and laying out a timeline for OCR to act, saying:
“The administrative complaints were filed over a year ago, and we are concerned about the delay in responding to them. We would appreciate hearing back from you within the next two weeks about your office’s timeline for reviewing and acting upon these pending administrative complaints.”
The letter was signed by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL), Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL), Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). The Administrative complaints referenced in the letter were filed by the following local AIDS advocacy groups: AIDS Alabama, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, AIDS Research Consortium in Georgia, CrescentCare (formerly the NO/AIDS Task Force in Louisiana), and the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, assisted by the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School and the Legal Council for Health Justice.
The full text of the letter can be found here.