Sasse Will Block All HHS Nominees Until Feds Provide CO-OP Answers

"I will act to block consideration and confirmation of every HHS nominee until families who lost their co-op insurance plans get straight answers."

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) announced his intent to block consideration and confirmation of every HHS nominee—and oppose the fast-tracking of those nominees—until the Administration gives a complete and transparent accounting of the systematic failures of the Affordable Care Act’s CO-OP program, including CoOportunity in Nebraska and Iowa.

"I will act to block consideration and confirmation of every HHS nominee until families who lost their co-op insurance plans get straight answers. Hundreds of thousands of enrollees lost their plans when co-ops in nine states collapsed and these victims deserve clear and honest answers from the bureaucrats who oversaw the mess. Until these families are given complete answers, the Senate should not confirm any HHS nominees. This isn’t a partisan crusade—frankly, Republicans and Democrats from these nine states have an opportunity to stand together and demand answers for our constituents so that this kind of failure never happens again."

Sasse’s announcement comes on the heels of four new co-op failures in Colorado, Oregon, Tennessee and Kentucky. These add to the failures in Nebraska, Iowa, New York, Nevada, and Louisiana. To date, 8 of the original 23 co-ops have failed.

On May 6, 2015, Sasse wrote to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell seeking answers regarding CoOpportunity's failure. In June, HHS offered an insufficient response, prompting Sasse to send an August 6 letter (available here) detailing nine specific questions. In more than two months since receiving those questions, HHS has not responded. 

Sasse's opposition to HHS nominees and the fast-tracking of their confirmation includes the nomination of Karen DeSalvo to be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

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