The top Obamacare official said Wednesday her agency has the legal authority to institute what House Republicans say is an illegal, taxpayer-funded bailout of health insurers.
“In making any decisions about these issues, we believe we do have the statutory authority,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said Wednesday at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. “The consumer or citizen is what we’ve tried to put at the center.”
At issue is the reinsurance program set up under President Obama’s 2010 healthcare law, which provides payments to insurers that suffered with especially high medical bills from the new enrollees in the law’s insurance marketplaces. HHS has paid about $3.5 billion to insurers so far, as part of the three-year program that is supposed to end next year.
But Republicans are arguing the administration lacks the authority to award those funds to insurers, as they were never directly appropriated by Congress. The House Ways and Means Committee has issued a subpeona to the Treasury Department and the IRS for documents proving the administration had the legal authority to spend those funds.
Rep. Joe Pitts, chairman of the Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, pressed Burwell on whether any of the major insurers getting the payments pressured her into ensuring they got the funds. In response, Burwell reiterated that her agency believes it has the authority to do so.
“Did your department receive any pressure from insurance companies?” Pitts asked. “Did Marilyn Tavenner or other insurance offiicals pressure you on the reinsurance issue?” Pitts was referring to the former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who now heads up the National Association of Health Insurers.
“I think I’ve given you the context and approach we take,” Burwell responded.
