Alexander demands enrollment updates

Rep. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is writing legislation that would require the Obama administration to provide weekly reports to Congress and the states about enrollment under ObamaCare.

His bill would also require updates on efforts to solve the technical problems that have prevented people from enrolling online, and information about ObamaCare “navigators” that help people enroll.

The Obama administration has so far refused to provide any hard information about the number of people who have tried to sign up for insurance under the health insurance exchanges. That — along with countless reports of website problems that have made the website unusable for thousands of people — has led to demands of more transparency from Republicans.

{mosads}”As millions of Americans have sat frustrated at their computers and on their phones, wasting hours trying to fulfill the ObamaCare mandate and enroll in the exchanges, the administration has refused to provide critical information about what’s going wrong, or has dribbled out news through anonymous statements to reporters,” Alexander said.

“This bill will require the administration to be honest and transparent with the public, governors overseeing state exchanges, state consumer protection regulators, and decision makers in Congress,” he added. “No more hiding the damage of the train wreck — Americans are on this train.”

Alexander said one study showed that traffic to HealthCare.gov fell 88 percent between Oct. 1 and 13 due to reports about the glitch-prone website. It also found that less than one-half of one percent of people who tried to enroll were able to do so.

He said that is par for the course so far, and criticized the Obama administration for making administrative changes to the law without making them clear to users.

“This law is about as clear as mud, and instead of helping Americans understand their new obligations, the Obama administration has been burying important changes — not announcing them boldly as you’d expect an administration that’s proud of its new healthcare law to do,” he said. “Americans deserve better from the officials who are so committed to implementing this train wreck of a law.”