June 29, 2014
House GOP trying to crack The Cone of Silence that surrounds Obamacare numbers
By Rick Moran
Information regarding sign ups and other data from the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) are being guardes as if they contained the secret to our nuclear deterrent. Congress has asked several times for the stats on the program and HHS refuses to cooperate.
The Hill:
A top GOP lawmaker pushed the administration Friday to release enrollment data measuring the success of the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) under ObamaCare.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), chairman of the House Small Business Committee, issued a statement expressing frustration that the Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly failed to provide the requested data.
“It’s astonishing how little information has been disclosed about a law in which the taxpayers are investing billions. What is the Administration hiding?” Graves asked.
“The mismanagement of the Small Business Health Options program is very frustrating,” Graves added. “The Administration isn’t able to answer even the most basic questions about the program’s enrollment or its progress.”
The SHOP program allows employers with 50 or fewer employees to enroll their workers into health plans and receive tax credits.
Earlier this month, Graves wrote a second letter to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner asking for data on how many businesses and workers have enrolled in the SHOP program and how many workers have paid their premiums.
HHS responded Thursday with general information about the program, but shared no enrollment data or timetable.
“The Department appreciates your concerns about SHOP implementation, and we will continue to work with our federal partners and state agencies to ensure small employers receive accurate, timely, and consistent information about deadlines and requirements,” wrote Jim Esquea, HHS assistant secretary for legislation.
Graves asked for data on the program earlier this year but Kathleen Sebelius, outgoing secretary of Health and Human Services, responded in March saying the figures were not available and the department was still working on gathering the data.
As we've seen in the past, when enrollment numbers are good news, the administration can't advertise them fast enough. So the SHOP numbers must be dismal if HHS has refused two requests from the House for information.
Every once and a while over the past couple of weeks, liberal commentators write a gloating post about how Obamacare is "working" or how it is disappearing as an issue. We ain't seen nothing yet. Premium increases, more people thrown off their insurance plans, and a website that is still dysfunctional will plauge Obamacare through the mid terms in November.
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