Testimony to Congress from CAHC’s J.P. Wieske

INTRODUCTION

Chairwoman Eshoo, Ranking Member Burgess and Members of the Subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to testify today on the issue of lowering consumer costs and expanding access, and for continuing the dialogue surrounding the status of the individual health insurance market.

I am J.P. Wieske, Vice President of State Affairs at the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, also known as CAHC, which is a broad-based alliance with a singular focus: bringing down the cost of health care for all Americans. I testified before this committee in my prior role as Deputy Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Wisconsin in February of 2017. In that role, I was involved with a number of health insurance issues including serving on Wisconsin’s high-risk pool board, working with the state legislature, and assisting with operationalizing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). I would also note that in my former role, I have had some leadership experience on state issues serving as Chair of the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s Regulatory Framework Task Force, Chair of the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Subgroup, Chair of the Network Adequacy Subgroup, and Chair of the Health Care Regulatory Alternatives Workgroup. It should be made clear that my views do not reflect the views of the state of Wisconsin nor the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

CAHC’s membership reflects a broad range of interests—organizations representing patient groups, consumers, small and large employers, insurers and health plans, biopharmaceutical manufacturers, and physician organizations. CAHC is concerned health costs are too high and rising too fast. In fact, costs continue to rise faster than the economy, while premiums are increasing about four times faster than wages. As a result, by 2030 the typical family will spend more than 40 percent of their income on health care.1 We support many reforms to promote affordability, including efforts to reform health markets, improve health care transparency, promote value-based care, and strengthen patient adherence to medications.