House Republican committee chairs on Saturday demanded audits for an “astonishing level” of potential Obamacare enrollment fraud.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) called on government watchdogs, such as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the inspector general at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to investigate an “astonishing level” of potential Obamacare enrollment fraud, citing a report from the Paragon Health Institute.
The conservative think tank released a report that found that as many as five million Americans may be incorrectly receiving Obamacare, or Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurance subsidies.
The House Republican leaders contended, “The scale of the problem suggests malicious intent.” They called for the watchdog organizations to conduct a “systemic review of enrollment.”
Kaiser Family Foundation Health News, or KFF Health News, also recently reported that health brokers may have falsified information to enroll customers or wrongly switch customers between plans without their knowledge or consent.
Even some Democrats, such as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, have demanded information about enforcement to protect Americans from these brokers.
The Washington Post reported:
The focus on potential ACA fraud comes as lawmakers continued to wrestle over the health law and how to fund its programs. Democrats have celebrated sign-ups through the ACA, with President Biden at Thursday night’s debate touting that more than 40 million Americans are covered through its insurance marketplaces and its Medicaid expansion.
Republicans have countered that the program’s purpose has been distorted, and that Democrats have been too generous in providing federal subsidies for private health insurance.
“It’s stunning how little has been done to date looking at these issues,” Paragon President Brian Blase, a former Trump White House health policy official, said.
Blase said that this amount of potential fraud could cost $20 billion in 2024.
‼️Congress is opening an investigation into the great Obamacare enrollment fraud, which @Paragon_Inst uncovered a few weeks ago. Great step by @HouseCommerce @WaysandMeansGOP @JudiciaryGOP. We estimate the fraud at $20 bn this year. https://t.co/oq95Ugztej @kerpen @mfcannon
— Brian Blase (@brian_blase) June 29, 2024
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.