U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) said on Friday that it is “unacceptable” for the Obama administration to pay billions of dollars to “bail out” insurers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The administration has signaled to insurance providers suing for unpaid money that it planned to negotiate a broad settlement that would likely draw funds from an obscure Treasury Department fund designed to cover federal legal claims, the Washington Post reports.
Ayotte said that the “troubling report,” which estimates that $2.5 billion could be paid out for 2014 claims alone, is evidence that the administration shows little regard for taxpayers and will go to great lengths to prop up a “failed healthcare law.”
“Each day it becomes more clear that instead of working across the aisle to broker true health care reform that lowers costs for consumers, the president and his Democrat allies in Congress rushed through a partisan, flawed law,” Ayotte said. “On top of this recent revelation, over 11,000 Granite Staters recently learned they would have to select a new insurance carrier after one of the ObamaCare co-ops announced it would be leaving the state. The status quo is unacceptable, and we must do more to promote competition, increase consumer choice, and bring down health care costs for hardworking families.”
Ayotte recently helped introduced the State Flexibility to Provide Affordable Health Options Act, which would enable individuals to use ACA subsidies to purchase plans from outside federal exchanges.
Fischer noted recent reports that Blue Cross Blue Shield would drop out of ACA marketplaces in Nebraska, leading to loss of coverage for 20,000 Nebraskans.
“Now, the Obama administration plans to use taxpayer dollars to secretly settle claims with health insurers through the Judgment Fund,” Fischer said. “My Judgment Fund Transparency Act, which passed the Senate in April, would provide Congress with increased oversight over these backroom deals. These backroom deals should not be happening. My bill would allow the American people to see how their tax dollars are being spent.”
Under Fischer’s bill, which is now part of the Energy Policy Modernization Act, Judgment Fund transactions would be open to public scrutiny because the Treasury Department would be required to post information about payments on a publicly-accessible website.