Open enrollment for 2018 in Obamacare starts November 1, and thus far the Trump administration has shown not just a lack of interest in making an effort to make it successful, but every intention of doing what they can to make it fail. The top Democrats on the committee overseeing health care are fighting back to the extent that they can, demanding that administration officials answer concerns about their sabotage officially in a briefing.
In a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, the lawmakers expressed concerns over what they see as the White House’s efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces.
"Rather than encouraging enrollment in the Marketplaces, the Administration appears intent on depressing it, which we fear will contribute to destabilizing insurance markets and drive up costs for consumers," the lawmakers wrote. […]
By Aug. 31, the lawmakers would like a briefing with HHS on a variety of matters related to open enrollment, such as the administration’s outreach and enrollment strategy, if it plans to operate call centers, when the administration will award certain grants and more.
The letter was sent by Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ), of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Richard Neal (MA), of the House Ways and Means Committee; and Sens. Patty Murray (WA), of the Senate Health Committee, Ron Wyden (OR), of the Senate Finance Committee, and Bob Casey (PA), of the Senate Aging Committee. The greatest point of leverage here is the Senate Health Committee, where Murray and Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) have already announced hearings to figure out how to stabilize the ACA's markets. Democrats could put enough pressure—and possibly shame—on their Republican counterparts to make the administration answer.