After the Supreme Court’s bizarre decision validating the IRS’ illegal ObamaCare rule, Congress is opening a new chapter in the debate over the health overhaul law by focusing on oversight and investigations to protect taxpayers and the rule of law.
Action is underway in Congress:
The Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee is holding a hearing this Friday to examine the ACA’s state exchanges and will question witnesses about documented reports of mismanagement, broken promises, and wasted taxpayer dollars.
Chairman Rep. Tim Murphy, R-PA, said, “The administration’s mismanagement of the president’s signature health care law not only led to a HealthCare.gov meltdown on day one, several states were awarded more than $4.5 billion in taxpayer dollars without seemingly any oversight and management from the administration, leaving a trail of broken systems across the country…We will remain steadfast in our oversight of this broken law as we continue our efforts to protect Americans from its costly consequences.”
The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing last week to examine enrollment controls in the federal government’s ObamaCare website, healthcare.gov. In an undercover investigation, the Government Accountability Office created fictitious identities to apply for premium tax subsidies through healthcare.gov. Eleven out of 12 fake applications were approved, and fabricated documents were accepted without any attempts to verify their authenticity.
Chairman Orrin Hatch said the website “failed spectacularly” in protecting against fraud and that “encountered mind-boggling levels of incompetence and inefficiency at nearly every turn” as it conducted undercover enrollment.
No effort is made on the website to detect fraudulent enrollments, and Sen. Hatch observed: “it seems obvious, at least to me, that the administration is preoccupied with signing up as many applicants as possible, ignoring potential fraud and integrity issues.”