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ICYMI: Murphy to Slavitt: I don't want estimates

 
 

ICYMI:
Murphy to Slavitt: I don't want estimates

 4 'Must-See' Moments from Chairman Murphy’s Oversight and Investigations Hearing on Rising Premium Rates, Affordable Care Act

For Immediate Release: September 15, 2016
Contact: Carly Atchison 202.225.2301

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, Congressman Murphy (PA-18) demanded answers from Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Andy Slavitt on the rising premium rates and overall sustainability of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during a joint Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing

In 2015, Congressman Murphy, who chairs the Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee, led an investigation into two failed programs of the ACA: State-Based Exchanges (SBEs) and Consumer Oriented and Operated Plans (CO-OPs). The findings of the investigation revealed insolvency, careless management, and billions in wasted federal funds.

SBEs, organizations set up to facilitate the purchase of health insurance, have wasted $4.6 billion in federal grant funding and four out of the original 17 SBE’s have shut down. While the Administration claimed that SBE’s would be self-sustaining by January 1, 2015, every SBE continues to use taxpayer money. CO-OPs, designed to encourage healthy competition within the individual and small group health insurance markets, have also had costly failures, totaling up to $1.8 billion, and 17 out of the original 23 CO-OPs have closed, the most recent of which occurred this week in New Jersey. 

Murphy's 4 'must-see'  moments from the hearing are below:

  1. “I don’t want estimates. I want hard-core data, with regard to: ‘Are premiums going up or not?’ All the data we see is, they’re going up.”
    Watch here.

     
  2. “Have you shared this information with Aetna, United and Humana? Because the fact that they bailed out of the market, saying this is out of control — maybe you have a breakthrough these companies haven’t seen.”
    Watch here.

     
  3. “We’ve already given them [CO-OPs] $1.8 billion in American taxpayer loans, so when you say ‘sufficient capital’ you mean we’re going to give them more?”
    Watch here.

     
  4. “The fact that [premiums are being] subsidized is phony. It’s absolutely phony. How can you have premiums going down… if we’re still bailing out insurance companies? Premiums aren’t going down - they’re being subsidized.”
    Watch here.
     

Click here to watch Murphy's full exchange with Slavitt and here to watch the full hearing.

###

Murphy Press | Congressman Tim Murphy (PA-18)
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