The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius faced the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to answer questions about the poorly planned opening of the health insurance marketplace on HealthCare.gov and other Obamacare-related matters.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has posted the statements of Chairman Fred Upton, Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn, and Secretary Sebelius. A full recording of the hearing is available on C-SPAN.
House Energy and Commerce Committee: PPACA Implementation Failures: Answers from HHS
C-SPAN: HHS Secretary Testifies on HealthCare.gov Enrollment Issues
If you don’t have time to watch the several-hours-long testimony, there’s always the old-fashioned newspapers. There were a number of interesting exchanges. At one point, the Secretary accepted blame for the fiasco. Unfortunately for the Administration, the website was unavailable for most of the hearing. Also at issue was the President’s claim that those who liked their insurance coverage could keep it, even though many have received notices that it would no longer be available.
Politico: Sebelius: ‘Hold me accountable’ for Obamacare debacle
Washington Post: New problems emerge with healthcare Web site; Sebelius acknowledges frustrations
Coinciding with the testimony, a Wall Street Journal/NBC poll reported that 37 percent of the public thought HealthCare.gov’s problems were a “short-term technical issue,” while 31 percent thought it was representative of irreparable problems in the law. About 30 percent said more time is needed to assess the situation.
Wall Street Journal: WSJ/NBC News Poll: Are HealthCare.Gov’s Problems Fixable?
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