WASHINGTON, DC - The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), today announced the witnesses who will testify at Thursday’s hearing on “Examining the Costly Failures of Obamacare’s CO-OP Insurance Loans." The hearing comes just days after the state of Arizona announced that its CO-OP would shutter in 2016, bringing the total to 11 out of the original Obamacare 23 CO-OPs that will be out of operation in 2016 at a total cost to taxpayers of $1.165 billion. Among the failed CO-OPs includes CoOpportunity Health that served Iowa and Nebraska residents. U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) is scheduled to testify Thursday.
Over the weekend, Sen. Sasse penned an op-ed for Nebraska’s Lincoln Journal Star, asking the Department of Health and Human Services what will happen with the taxpayer dollars funding these failed CO-OPs. Sasse wrote, “When CoOportunity Heath failed, 120,000 individuals - the majority of whom are Nebraskans - lost their health plans. They deserve to know what went wrong."
Among the witnesses confirmed for Thursday’s hearing:
The Honorable Ben Sasse
United States Senator
State of Nebraska
Mandy Cohen, M.D.
Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Gloria L. Jarmon
Deputy Inspector General for Audit Services
Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Julie McPeak
Commissioner, Commerce and Insurance
State of Tennessee
James J. Donelon
Commissioner of Insurance
State of Louisiana
Peter L. Beilenson, MD
Board of Directors
National Alliance of State Health CO-Ops
John Morrison
Vice Chair
Montana Health CO-OP
The Majority Memorandum and witness testimony will be available here as they are posted.
