Legislators seek answers for missing CMS emails

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said on Tuesday an email chain that included Obama administration officials proves they are “trying to cover their tracks” as Congress investigates the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

An email reportedly sent by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to a subordinate that said, “Please delete this email,” has led Blackburn and other legislators to question the transparency of administration officials regarding ACA’s rollout.

Blackburn, the vice chairwoman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told Fox News that the contents of the email chain reveal that CMS was having difficulty converting manual health plan enrollments into online enrollments.

“They knew they had a problem on their hands, even when they were telling us all was well,” Blackburn said.

The email was included in documents turned over by the Department of Health and Human Services to the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said the email contradicted previous CMS claims that Tavenner’s record keeping system led to missing emails.

Committee leaders asked Tavenner to make herself available to explain why she directed her employee to delete the email, how CMS documents were permanently lost and what the reasons were for the ordered redactions.

“They have spent nearly a billion dollars now on healthcare.gov and the state exchanges that are feeding into this, and they still can’t make it work,” Blackburn said.