The House Energy and Commerce committee announced on Thursday that it will hold a full committee hearing on Oct. 24 to discuss the Affordable Care Act’s rocky rollout.
The Obama Administration declined an invitation to attend the hearing. The committee has requested Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius reconsider the decision to not attend.
“The failure of the exchanges also raises serious questions concerning the billions of taxpayer dollars spent by the Department to implement the program,” the committee said in a letter.
They said the exchanges’ failures directly contradict the promise made to the public.
“Top administration officials repeatedly testified everything was on track, but the broad technological failures reveal that was not the case,” Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said. “Either the administration was not ready for launch, or it was not up to the job.”
Upton said top officials were quick to talk about the number of visitors to the health care website, but now they have refused to disclose enrollment figures.
“The rollout has been a complete mess, beyond the worst-case scenario, and yet those administration officials responsible have indicated they will not be available to testify next week,” Upton said.
Energy and Commerce committee members have sent letters requesting the administration and lead IT contractors attend the hearing to discuss glitches in the enrollment system. The committee is also requesting enrollment figures that have not been disclosed to the public and policymakers.