$170 Million Spent On Obamacare Exchange Site That Doesn’t Work
Marguerite Bowling /
coveroregon.com
After receiving multiple requests from federal and state lawmakers, the Government Accountability Office said in a letter today that it will investigate Oregon’s state exchange website that was created by Obamacare, according to KGW.com.
The letter, which was addressed to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, said the federal watchdog agency would look at Oregon’s exchange website as part of a broader study planned to examine states’ health exchanges that are part of President Obama’s signature health care law.
Several congressmen and senators from both political parties had in recent weeks called for a federal audit of Oregon’s exchange website, which has yet to be unveiled to the general public.
“[T]he impact of a dysfunctional online marketplace cannot be understated, especially at a cost to the taxpayer of roughly $300 million,” wrote Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in a letter last month to GAO’s U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro.
Cover Oregon, the state’s online exchange, was months late in launching a beta test website that was still plagued with technical bugs and glitches, according to The Oregonian. The exchange has been earmarked for $300 million in funding, the majority of which has come from the federal government. So far, more than $170 million has been spent on the faulty website.
The investigation comes after state officials announced this week that nearly 4,000 illegal immigrants, who were applying for a separate state pregnancy services program, were enrolled in Oregon’s Medicaid program, which is contrary to federal law.
As a result of its disastrous rollout, Oregon officials including Carolyn Lawson, former Chief Information Officer for the Oregon Health Authority, and Rocky King, Cover Oregon’s former executive director, resigned.
This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.