“Multiple federal investigations are probing the $2 billion Obamacare co-op loan program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…”
“Investigators from two separate offices within HHS’s Office of Inspector General are looking closely at the co-op program…”
“The Obamacare co-op program is also the focus of examinations by the House Energy and Commerce and Oversight and Government Reform…”
[…]
“Because co-ops are relatively untested vehicles for selling and managing health insurance programs, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget has predicted that as many as 43 percent of the new groups will go bankrupt within a few years.”
“Investigators are focusing on the co-op program’s lack of transparency, high likelihood of multiple defaults, and recurring charges of political favoritism in the selection process for choosing funding recipients.”
“One of the IG probes is focusing on the process used by the Obama administration to choose the 24 co-ops to be funded, which critics argue is flawed by favoritism…”
“In Congress, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, said an insider deal between the Vermont Health CO-OP and one of its founding senior executives “smells and reeks to high heaven of cronyism.”’
[…]
“Vermont’s state insurance commissioner recently rejected the co-op’s application for a license to sell health insurance in part due to the insider deal, calling it “illegal.”’
[…]
‘”Almost $2 billion taxpayer dollars are on the line, yet we still know very little about why and how these companies were selected for taxpayer-backed loans,” he said. “The viability of the Vermont Health CO-OP deepens my concerns that the selection process was both opaque and flawed.”’
[…]
BY: RICHARD POLLOCK
JUNE 13, 2013
Obamacare co-ops are focus of four federal investigations