2020 Comment Letters

Nomination of Xavier Becerra to Lead HHS

The PBGH issued this statement regarding the announcement that President-elect Biden will nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Surprise Billing Protections

PBGH joins a broad coalition of employer groups urging congressional leaders to enact comprehensive surprise billing protections for patients in this letter.

Expansion of COBRA Subsidies

PBGH joined 27 organizations in calling on Congress to include the COBRA subsidies that were in the original HEROES Act, so that laid-off workers have the option to affordably continue the coverage they receive through employers. Read the letter here.

Transparency in Coverage

As a member of Consumers First: The Alliance to Make the Health System Work for Everyone, PBGH joined five organizations in signing onto the comment letter for the Transparency in Coverage proposed rule. This proposed rule recognizes the critical role that both price and quality transparency play in achieving higher value health care by allowing policymakers, researchers and consumers to understand the price of services negotiated between providers and health insurers. While the Alliance’s comment letter supports efforts to substantially improve health care price transparency, it also urges the administration to refocus the target of its efforts from changing consumer behavior to changing the behavior of providers and payers, and to informing policymakers and regulators. The administration must also consider the possibility that revealing negotiated hospital rates could result in higher prices in some markets, and that access to paid claims and related data via all payer claims databases (APCD) may be a more effective approach to enabling informed utilization and plan design decisions. The comment letter can be read in its entirety here.