GOP launches ObamaCare enrollment audit

Republican lawmakers are going around the Obama administration in their quest to know how many ObamaCare enrollees have actually finished signing up.

In letters Thursday, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee asked every insurer participating in the federal marketplace to say how many new customers have paid their first bill, the final step in gaining coverage.

{mosads}The administration counts its enrollees as people who have signed up for plans but not necessarily those who have paid their first premium.

Federal health officials say they don’t have access to that data, a statement insurance companies dispute.

Industry leaders estimate that up to 20 percent of ObamaCare enrollees have not paid their first bill, meaning they cannot use their new health plans yet.

Republicans have used this estimate to disparage enrollment under the healthcare law, saying it is in fact much lower than the administration reports.

Thursday’s letters asked insurers for several details more on their new ObamaCare customers, including the enrollees’ ages and how many were previously uninsured.