Senate Hearing Draws Bipartisan Support for ACA Reforms, Unclear Path Forward

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held a hearing this week on “Assessing the Damage Done by Obamacare,” with testimony from Paragon Health Institute, a right-leaning think tank that has published research on alleged unauthorized enrollments and called for an end to the enhanced subsidies.

Bipartisan members of the Committee expressed support for reforming the ACA to make coverage more affordable and reduce the reliance on federal subsidies to lower premiums. That being said, Republicans continue to assert widespread fraud in the program, despite a letter to the Committee from AHIP demonstrating there is no evidence of anything approaching “widespread, systemic fraud” nationally and how the industry has worked with CMS to identify and address improper and unauthorized enrollments.

An analysis by AHIP coalition partner Keep Americans Covered responding to claims of “fraud” was also entered into the record from Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).