U.S. Rep. Angie Craig Pushes Biden Administration to Strengthen Access to Essential Health Care Services
The Affordable Care Act mandated coverage of 10 essential health care services – including ambulatory care, prescription drugs and pediatric services
Currently, states can choose which services are covered within these categories – leading to concerning health care coverage gaps
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Angie Craig is pushing the Biden Administration to strengthen access to essential health care services across the country.
In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Rep. Craig pushed for an update to Essential Health Benefits (EHBs).
The Affordable Care Act mandated coverage of 10 categories of essential health services including ambulatory and emergency care, prescription drugs and pediatric services. However, individual states can dictate which services are covered under each of these categories – leading to concerning health coverage gaps state by state.
“Too many individuals forego medically necessary care because they cannot afford treatment, or risk going into medical and dental debt. HHS has the power to mitigate this burden through updating the EHBs. We urge you to initiate a new rule and help ensure that over 40 million people will have the comprehensive health insurance coverage for the services they need,” wrote Rep. Craig and 19 other Members.
A full copy of the letter can be found here.
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