January 16, 2003
Dear Secretary Thompson: We are writing to request three statutorily-mandated reports to Congress which are long overdue: two pertaining to the Children’s Health Insurance program (CHIP) and one pertaining to Medicaid cost-sharing payments for low-income Medicare beneficiaries and access to care. As part of the original legislation establishing the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 1997, Congress required that the Department of Health and Human Services issue a report based on states’ evaluations of their new CHIP programs by December 31, 2001. Two years later, in the Balanced Budget Refinement Act (BBRA), Congress required that an additional independent evaluation of ten state programs be conducted by the Secretary or his designee. This second report was also required to be submitted to Congress by December 31, 2001. These reports were intended to help policymakers learn how the new state programs were working and how they could be improved. More than a year after the statutory deadline, the Committee on Energy and Commerce has not received either of these mandated reports. The Committee has not been informed about any reason for the delay. Additionally, as part of the Beneficiary Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA), Congress mandated that the Secretary of Health and Human Services study and report to Congress on the effect of Medicaid cost-sharing policies on providers and Medicare beneficiaries, in particular: (1) whether access to care for low income Medicare beneficiaries had been affected by state cost-sharing policies under 1902(n) of the Social Security Act and (2) what effect such policies had on providers who serve a disproportionate share of such beneficiaries. This report was due not later than one year after the date of the enactment of BIPA and is now, like the other two reports mentioned above, more than a year overdue. We request that you transmit all three reports promptly to the relevant Committees of jurisdiction along with an explanation of the cause for delay. We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to receiving these useful reports. Sincerely, JOHN D. DINGELL
cc: The Honorable W. J. "Billy" Tauzin, Chairman | |
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