GAO: Sebelius sought help from outside groups

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought financial or technical help with ObamaCare’s rollout from five outside groups, government investigators said Sunday.

The report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) calls attention back to a persistent controversy during Sebelius’s tenure at HHS.

{mosads}The secretary’s fundraising often came under fire from Republicans, who argued that soliciting funds for the rollout was against the law.

Sebelius sought financial assistance from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and H&R Block for Enroll America, a nonprofit engaged in ObamaCare outreach, the GAO said.

She also asked Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser and Ascension Health, a major Catholic nonprofit health system, for nonfinancial help. All three enterprises are regulated by HHS, the report said.

Federal health officials argue that the requests were above board. Congress failed to appropriate enough money to adequately publicize the healthcare law, leaving Sebelius no other options, the administration says.

The report was first detailed by The New York Times.