Credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images/Newscom
Some Obamacare navigators—taxpayer-funded workers who were meant to help Americans wade through the insurance exchanges and buy health insurance—have been giving Americans misinformation and in some instances encouraging Americans to commit fraud, according to a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that was released today.
The new report is based on briefings the committee conducted with top Administration officials, including Gary Cohen, who heads up the agency in charge of the navigator program.
“Major problems have plagued [Obamacare’s] Navigator and Assister programs in the first 10 weeks of open enrollment,” the report said, pointing particularly to the following concerns:
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has lax oversight for organizations to report navigator fraud or misconduct;
- Navigators were unprepared for HealthCare.gov’s crash and lacked a contingency plan to help consumers; and
- The programs have insufficient consumer protections or training requirements.
The potential for navigator fraud is one of the reasons Heritage’s director of marketing technology Tim McGovern is advising consumers to avoid HealthCare.gov in the near term.
Whether flying solo on HealthCare.gov or enlisting the aid of a navigator, the security risks of signing up for Obamacare remain sky high. All Americans—and especially the young—might want to hold off for a while until you get an official ‘all clear.’
You wouldn’t settle for a half-baked Christmas dinner. Why take a chance on the half-baked HealthCare.gov?
