The closing of numerous Obamacare startups is causing a political fallout, with a Republican senator now threatening to block key nominations from President Obama.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Monday that he intends to block every Department of Health and Human Services nominee unless he gets answers on the failures surrounding taxpayer-funded Obamacare insurance startups.
The Obama administration set up 23 public co-ops to help create more competition on Obamacare’s insurance marketplaces. But eight have decided to shut down due to financial troubles.
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Sasse said Monday he wants to get “straight answers” on problems with the co-ops. The senator said he sought answers from HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell on the closure of a co-op that served Iowa and Nebraska earlier this year, but the response was insufficient.
He wrote again to Burwell in August asking more questions, but has not received a response. The questions include whether or not the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services knew about the financial sustainability of the Nebraska/Iowa co-op that shut down in late 2014.
Sasse’s opposition includes the fast tracking of their confirmation. This includes the nomination of Karen DeSalvo as the assistant secretary of HHS.
His efforts also would include Robert Califf, the nomination to be the head of the Food and Drug Administration, a source told the Washington Examiner.
Sasse’s opposition is the latest in a GOP backlash on the co-ops. Several lawmakers have referred to the spate of closures as they renew criticisms that the healthcare law isn’t working.
But Sasse said the closings weren’t a partisan issue.
Lawmakers from the nine states affected by the closures “have an opportunity to stand together and demand answers for our constituents so that this kind of failure never happens again.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services responded that it answered Sasse’s questions and will work with his office on any follow-ups. The agency said that it recognizes that as startups, not all co-ops will succeed, spokeswoman Meaghan Smith said.
The agency monitors and evaluates all of its co-ops to assess its performance and compliance with federal requirements. The agency also uses “additional measures employed as needed on a case-specific basis such as the evaluation of co-op sustainability,” Smith said.
