HHS Is Reportedly Using Obamacare Outreach Funds To Undermine The Law

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, testifies before a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on FY'18 budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 15, 2017.    (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price listens while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 15, 2017, before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Health and Human Services Depa... Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price listens while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 15, 2017, before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Health and Human Services Department's fiscal 2018 budget. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

The Department of Health and Human Services has been using government funding earmarked for efforts to educate Americans about the Affordable Care Act to produce anti-Obamacare online videos, according to a Thursday Daily Beast report.

The report, which cited several unnamed “sources at various agencies and on the Hill,” stated the department used its internal studio to film testimonials of people who say they have been hurt by Obamacare, which were then used to create more than 100 videos. HHS also used taxpayer money to pay for the travel costs of individuals who flew to Washington, D.C., to be interviewed for the videos, per the report. The department posts the videos to the HHS YouTube channel, describing the families and doctors as “burdened by Obamacare.”

The Trump administration has also used official Twitter accounts to promote Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare, while the HHS website currently features a banner that sends people to a page arguing that Obamacare has done “damage” to health insurance markets.

Democrats in Congress have asked the government to look into whether HHS is misusing the funds for an effort to sabotage Obamacare, per the Daily Beast.

Earlier this year, HHS also had pulled ads encouraging people to enroll in health insurance plans through the exchanges for 2017, saying that the department would not “continue spending millions of taxpayers’ dollars promoting a failed government program.” The department said at the time that it would return the costs savings to the U.S. Treasury.

As the HHS works to sabotage the ACA and Senate Republicans fail to agree on a plan to replace it, President Donald Trump this week suggested that Republicans just “let ObamaCare fail” and then eventually work with Democrats on a new law.

Read the full Daily Beast report here.

 

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for dv01 dv01 says:

    They are truly determined to own healthcare. Good for them.

    Bad for the US but they’re turning a gray issue into black & white.

  2. Is anyone surprised? [rhetorical]

    This is why we need a functioning press, to dig this stuff up.

  3. Couldn’t a qui tam action be brought, to punish this?

  4. Avatar for jhand jhand says:

    Price usually profits from initiatives, or at least did while in Congress. Does he own the filming company? Or does he collect rent on the studio? I’m sure there must be something in it for him.

  5. Republican’ts run on a platform of, “Government is broken!” Then they get elected and break it…

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

12 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for george_c Avatar for dv01 Avatar for thunderhawk Avatar for tigersharktoo Avatar for sniffit Avatar for nova Avatar for lovecheese Avatar for keninmn Avatar for jhand Avatar for primergray Avatar for tsp Avatar for bankerpup Avatar for rickjones Avatar for canary02 Avatar for birdford Avatar for maximus

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: