Lead author of Obamacare law criticizes administration over rollout
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior Democratic senator who served as a lead author of President Barack Obama's healthcare law criticized the administration on Wednesday for failing to alert lawmakers to problems that led to the program's troubled rollout.
Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, who worried openly in April that the rollout could become "a train wreck" said he has been disappointed to hear administration officials say they didn't see problems with the federal healthcare website HealthCare.gov coming.
"When we asked for updates on the marketplaces, the responses we got were totally unsatisfactory. We heard multiple times that everything was on track. We now know that was not the case," he told U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at an oversight hearing.
But Baucus also sounded a conciliatory note, saying he wanted to avoid assigning blame. "That's in the past," Baucus said. "Now it's time to move forward and figure out how to fix it."
Under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, it is mandatory for everyone to have health insurance or pay a fine. Republicans oppose the plan on the grounds that it is an unwarranted expansion of the federal government.
The administration is working around-the-clock with the help of outside tech advisers to resolve problems that have plagued HealthCare.gov since it opened on October 1 and reduced an expected flood of new enrollees to a trickle.
Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, who worried openly in April that the rollout could become "a train wreck" said he has been disappointed to hear administration officials say they didn't see problems with the federal healthcare website HealthCare.gov coming.
"When we asked for updates on the marketplaces, the responses we got were totally unsatisfactory. We heard multiple times that everything was on track. We now know that was not the case," he told U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at an oversight hearing.
But Baucus also sounded a conciliatory note, saying he wanted to avoid assigning blame. "That's in the past," Baucus said. "Now it's time to move forward and figure out how to fix it."
Under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, it is mandatory for everyone to have health insurance or pay a fine. Republicans oppose the plan on the grounds that it is an unwarranted expansion of the federal government.
The administration is working around-the-clock with the help of outside tech advisers to resolve problems that have plagued HealthCare.gov since it opened on October 1 and reduced an expected flood of new enrollees to a trickle.
No comments:
Post a Comment