House Republican urges subpoena of ObamaCare data

Republicans are accusing a key ObamaCare official of refusing to provide Congress with enrollment data that one lawmaker said has already been provided to the White House and insurance companies.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) claimed in a hearing that HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan has ignored Republicans’ requests for enrollment data for several months. But the same agency, Meadows said, provided data to insurance companies on Dec. 18.

“Either [your agency] intentionally gave misleading information to insurance companies across the country on Dec. 18 or you lied to me and said that you didn’t have it,” Meadows asked Counihan during his first testimony before Congress.

He said Counihan has declined to share the information even after 23 emails, seven phone calls, two text messages and “countless other indirect contacts.”

“I would suggest the committee strongly look at subpoenaing all the data, all the correspondence, because it is obvious that this gentleman is stonewalling this committee,” Meadows said later in the hearing, during a second round of questioning.

{mosads}Counihan, who joined the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last fall, said he was “very committed to getting that information” but needed to properly vet the data.

The CMS official acknowledged that, in some circumstances, “there may be internal information that’s shared,” but was not familiar with Meadows’s claims.

“I have to go back and check correspondence from Dec. 18,” Counihan said.

The data the House Oversight subcommittee wants would provide the total number of people enrolled in ObamaCare at the end of 2014. The administration has previously said about 7.1 million signed up and paid for coverage through spring 2014. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell also told reporters last week that the full year’s data was not ready to be released.

But Republicans believe the administration is holding out on the information.

“Are you aware, Mr.Counihan, that if you were a CEO of a publicly traded corporation… many of the answers that you’re giving today could get you thrown in jail?” Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-Va.) asked Counihan after grilling him for several minutes on on the data.

Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the subcommittee, said the administration should be allowed time to thoroughly vet its enrollment figures. He pointed to the mistake recently disclosed, in which the administration miscounted about 400,000 people’s plans.

“I encourage you. Be really careful,” Cartwright said.

Across Capitol Hill on Thursday, Burwell was also grilled by Republicans on transparency issues. Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are accusing her of hiding the White House’s backup plan for the looming Supreme Court case on its healthcare law. 

This story was updated at 2:44 p.m.