Senate GOP: HHS May Have Purposely Misled on Obamacare Subsidies

Photo Credit: APA trio of top Senate Republicans have asked the Health and Human Services Department’s inspector general to look at whether the agency misrepresented its ability to verify Obamacare consumers’ incomes and issue the correct amount in subsidies to help them buy coverage on the new health exchanges.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma said in a letter to Inspector General Daniel Levinson that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ prior assurances to Capitol Hill are not proving true.

“We have long been concerned that Obamacare, with its complex eligibility process and access to enormous taxpayer resources, presents a grave risk for improper, inaccurate, and even fraudulent payments,” they wrote. “Those concerns were further heightened last summer when [HHS] issued regulations that would permit individuals to self-attest to their eligibility for subsidies under certain circumstances.”

Read more from this story HERE.