Hatch: Why Did CMS Give Issuers Termination Option If No King Back-Up Plan?

Senate Finance Chair Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on Wednesday asked CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to explain why the agency put a clause in its contracts with Healthcare.gov issuers last fall giving them an option to pull out if federal subsidies come to an end, suggesting the move contradicts HHS' assertion that it has no back-up plan should the U.S. Supreme Court rule that subsidies can't flow through federally facilitated exchanges. HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell told lawmakers in a letter Tuesday: “We...