By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week, Save Jerseyans, as part of a last-ditch effort to rescue the plans of roughly 90,000 New Jersey residents whose Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield B&E plans will be destroyed by ObamaCare come January 1st.
Asm. Jon Bramnick (R-Union), a leading though yet-unannounced candidate for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination in 2014, publicized a similar request earlier on Wednesday.
“Time is of the absolute essence. Thousands of New Jersey residents are scrambling this holiday season to ensure continued health coverage for families,” said Lance. “The federal government should ensure that these New Jersey residents who like their health care plans are able to keep them and meet the President’s promise.”
Governor Chris Christie, for his part, refused to require insurance company compliance with President Obama’s executive order permitting the extension of certain B&E plans for one year despite the fact that they no longer comply with Obamacare’s mandates. The President’s gesture was empty; it’s nearly impossible for most companies to reconfigure their insurance products now that rates have been calculated and set for 2014.
Text of Rep. Lance’s letter to Administrator Marilyn Tavenner is below the fold; click here for a pdf copy.
Dear Administrator Tavenner:
I am writing to request that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) take immediate action to protect the current health care policies of more than 90,000 New Jerseyeans.
As you know, President Obama recently requested that governors and state insurance commissioners allow insurers to renew plans in response to the tide of criticism that he had broken a promise to the American people that “if you like your health plan, you can keep it.”
New Jersey regulators announced on November 27th that health insurance companies can decide for themselves whether to renew the policies of thousands of consumers who previously were told the policies did not meet federal standards under the health care law and would be cancelled. Following this announcement, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) moved to renew its Basic and Essential and Basic and Essential Plus plans (B & E plans) currently held by more than 90,000 Garden State members.
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, however, this week said, “Further guidance provided as recently as this week by the federal government makes clear that even if an individual wants to keep their existing coverage in New Jersey, certain provisions will still be altered in order to make each plan consistent with federal mandates.”
Your apparent decision not to allow the renewal of current B & E plans runs counter to President Obama’s declaration that health insurers would be able to renew recently cancelled plans with state approval.
We respectfully request that CMS honor the President’s commitment to the American people and allow Horizon BCBSNJ to renew current B & E plans for its more than 90,000 members. We look forward to your response to our request
Sincerely,
Leonard Lance
Member of Congress
Seventh District, New Jersey
