Two House committee chairmen are threatening to subpoena top administration officials over payments made to health insurance companies to offset reduced-price insurance plans offered to people under Obamacare.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Kevin Brady, R-Texas, and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Fred Upton, R-Mich., sent letters requesting interviews by next week with a handful of employees who work for the Health and Human Services Department and the Internal Revenue Service.
The two lawmakers said the request comes after the administration has ignored two requests for information about Obamacare’s cost-sharing reduction program, which helps lower prices of Obamacare insurance plans. Under the program, the government is allowed to pay back insurance companies to offset these lower prices.
But the GOP lawmakers say Congress never appropriated money for the government to pay back the companies, and say the government has already reimbursed insurance companies with money that was meant to go toward tax refunds. Lawmakers also say payments have gone out illegally after the Obama administration unsuccessfully asked Congress to fund the program.
Brady and Upton say the government hasn’t answered any questions so far. “To date, the department has not provided any documents in response to our request,” the lawmakers wrote to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.
“The committees seek to fully understand the facts that led to the administration’s initial request for an annual appropriation to fund the CSR program,” the lawmakers wrote to Burwell. “If the department fails to timely respond or schedule the requested interviews, the committees will have no choice but to resort to compelled process.”
A near-identical letter was sent to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.
Lawmakers identified four employees from each department they want to interview, including HHS Chief Financial Officer Sheila Conley and IRS Chief Financial Officer Robin Canady.
Republicans are suing the Obama administration over the CSR program, saying it violates the constitution because Congress did not approve or appropriate the funding.
