Friday, July 17, 2015

Democrats decry undercover probe of HealthCare.gov

Senior Democrats pushed back Thursday against an undercover government probe of President Barack Obama's health care law, saying it didn't uncover any real fraud.
Investigators for the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office signed up 11 bogus beneficiaries for 2014 coverage then got HealthCare.gov to continue benefits this year for all but one.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said these were "fictitious cases" and the GAO investigators themselves admit the findings can't be translated to the 10 million people getting subsidized coverage through the law's health insurance markets. Wyden spoke at a Finance Committee hearing on the investigation.
But GAO's audits chief Seto Bagdoyan said the investigation exposed real concerns. He said it was relatively easy for GAO's fictitious characters to get and keep coverage, even to get reinstated after HealthCare.gov terminated them. HealthCare.gov seems to put a higher priority on getting people covered than on verifying they are legally entitled to benefits, Bagdoyan said.

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