Insurers seek clarity on who's responsible if consumers who receive subsidies don't pay their share

Insurance officials are asking the Obama administration to make clear who is responsible financially if people who get federal subsidies to buy health insurance don't pay their premiums.

Bloomberg: Hospitals May Absorb Risk Of Insurers' Debtor Patients 
Less than two months before health exchanges open to the public, hospitals are asking to change a part of the Affordable Care Act that leaves them at financial risk for patients who fall behind on their insurance premiums. The hospitals said in an Aug. 15 letter that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should reconsider the way health-insurance exchanges divide the financial responsibility for delinquent customers. The letter was signed by the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, and the Association of American Medical Colleges (Adams, 8/17).