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Portman Grills Sebelius over Health Care Rollout
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the troubled rollout of the Affordable Care Act and in particular its impact on Ohioans Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
During the hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, of which Portman is a member, he pointed out there were “plenty of warnings” about the problems that eventually were found with the rollout.
Those warnings included a letter he sent in August to both Sebelius and Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid, in which he requested that the start of the enrollment period be delayed “until the necessary leadership and preparation are in place to ensure that the marketplace can handle the volume on day one of enrollment,” he said.
“I relayed the concern that Ohio didn’t think there was even the minimal amount of coordination,” he said. He asked whether there was an individual assigned as a liaison for Ohio, and expressed concerns over information technology issues that were already apparent and questioned whether they could be resolved by the Oct. 1 launch.
“I said I was concerned that there would be a lot of confusion and disarray for Ohioans. Unfortunately, there has been,” he remarked.
“So I want to ask you today, who is in charge? Who’s in charge of the federal exchange in Ohio at HHS? Who can I direct my constituents to as they have concerns and questions? Because I am trying to help them,” he said.
Sebelius responded there isn’t an individual liaison assigned per state, but that Tavenner oversees the agency.
Portman also shared anecdotes from various constituents, including an individual who said he learned, after two weeks of trying to get onto the website, that his insurance rates would double, and a woman, who is “having a tough time making ends meet” and has a kid in college, who still has not heard back after calling two weeks earlier.
“We’re told 12 million people nationally are going to lose the coverage they have and, again, we’ve talked a lot about the promises that were made on that. How many Ohioans have had their insurance plan cancelled, do we know?” Portman questioned.
Information regarding cancellation of insurance is “proprietary insurance information” that HHS doesn’t have, Sebelius replied. “Ohio companies could give you that information. But that isn’t information we have at the Department of Health and Human Services. These are private insurance companies notifying their customers,” she said.
Sebelius said she did not know what the premise the Congressional Budget Office used to project that in 10 years, after full implementation of the Affordable care Act, that 30 million Americans would still lack health coverage. “I think that that is unlikely to be true if the program can be fully realized, and that’s my goal,” she said.
CLICK HERE to watch video of Portman's questioning as posted by his office.
SOURCE: U.S. Sen. Rob Portman.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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