Washington, D.C., Press Release, August 27– U.S. Senator Lamar
Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Senate health
committee, today joined with Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) to call on
the Obama administration to release Obamacare enrollment data that it
has withheld from the public since May.
“The last public update by CMS on enrollment numbers was on May 1,
2014,” the senators write in a letter to the Administrator for the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Marilyn Tavenner.
“With the next open enrollment period set to begin on November 15, 2014,
it is imperative that CMS provide Congress and the public with accurate
information about the number of people who are enrolled in exchange
coverage as well as the number of people who have cancelled coverage. “
Alexander and Barrasso request a detailed breakdown of the age of the
individuals who enrolled in the Obamacare exchange, what type of plans
they enrolled in, who paid and did not pay their premiums, and which
individuals have cancelled coverage.
Today’s letter continues Alexander’s efforts to make information
about the Obamacare federal exchange public. The House of
Representatives earlier this year passed legislation authored by
Alexander to require the Obama administration to provide weekly reports
to Congress, states, and the public about the federally run exchange in
36 states, including easily tracked data such as the number of
individuals who have visited the site and the number who have
successfully enrolled, their zip code, and the level of coverage they’ve
obtained. The reports would also be required to contain information on
the department’s efforts to resolve the site’s widespread technical
problems.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has not brought the legislation up for a vote in the Senate.
Today’s letter from Senators Alexander and Barrasso also highlights
recent investigations that call into question the accuracy of the
enrollment figures trumpeted by the Administration this past May.
“Since the last enrollment report issued by CMS, numerous
investigations raise questions about the accuracy of the enrollment
figures trumpeted by the Administration in May. For example, the
Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General
found that the marketplace could not resolve 2.6 million out of 2.9
million inconsistencies because the eligibility system created by your
agency was not fully operational…With the next open enrollment period
set to begin on November 15, 2014, it is imperative that CMS provide
Congress and the public with accurate information about the number of
people who are enrolled in exchange coverage as well as the number of
people who have cancelled coverage,” the senators wrote.
Full text of the letter below:
Administrator
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21244
Dear Administrator Tavenner,
We are writing to ask that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) update Congress and the public regarding enrollment in the health insurance exchanges. The last public update by CMS on enrollment numbers was on May 1, 2014. Numerous Administration officials touted the enrollment totals reported by CMS. Former Secretary Sebelius was quick to praise CMS’s report and stated that the exchange enrollment exceeded expectations.
Since the last enrollment report issued by CMS, numerous investigations raise questions about the accuracy of the enrollment figures trumpeted by the Administration in May. For example, the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General found that the marketplace could not resolve 2.6 million out of 2.9 million inconsistencies because the eligibility system created by your agency was not fully operational.
In addition, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report detailing the results of their “secret shopper” investigation which attempted to test Obamacare’s enrollment controls. The results were frightening as eleven out of the twelve fake applications created by GAO were approved.
Finally, your own agency recently acknowledged that over 300,000 people have not responded to problems found with their immigration and citizenship status. Despite repeated efforts to contact these individuals, they have not provided the documentation to prove that they can legally receive plans through the exchanges. Unless these people can address this problem, their exchange coverage will terminate on September 30th.
With the next open enrollment period set to begin on November 15, 2014, it is imperative that CMS provide Congress and the public with accurate information about the number of people who are enrolled in exchange coverage as well as the number of people who have cancelled coverage. Therefore, we request you provide the following information.
1. The number of individuals who selected an insurance plan through the health insurance exchanges from the beginning of the 2014 open enrollment period through August 15, 2014.
2. The number of individuals who selected an exchange insurance plan, but failed to pay their first month’s premium.
3. The number of individuals who selected an exchange insurance plan and paid their first month’s premium.
4. The number of individuals who selected an exchange insurance plan, paid their first month’s premium, but then failed to make subsequent payments and therefore are no longer enrolled in their exchange insurance plan.
To ensure this information provides the most complete picture of the number of individuals who are currently enrolled in exchange insurance policies, please provide a breakdown of these answers based on the state, medal level, and age of the enrollees.
Thank you in advance for your attention to this request. We would appreciate a response by September 9, 2014.
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