The title of this blog post says it all, and confirms the disdain HHS show for providers, patients, pharma, insurance companies, hospitals and Congress.
The Affordable Care Act assigns authority and responsibility to HHS for the implementation and mandates of the Affordable Care Act. Kathleen Sebelius is the personification of HHS as her appointed title indicates. She was confirmed by Congress several years ago, prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will not testify at a congressional hearing Thursday into breakdowns in the rollout of the federal Affordable Care Act, drawing more heat from House Republicans.
An HHS official confirmed Saturday that the secretary would not attend, citing a conflict in her schedule.
"We are in close communication with the committee and have expressed our desire to be responsive to their request,” the official said.
The hearing, before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was scheduled this week to address glitches in the Obamacare website. Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., ripped Sebelius when initial reports indicated she would not attend.
Sebelius states that she is too busy to attend due to prior commitments. Is this cowardice, or merely indicating her lack of priority for the Affordable Care Act?
Health experts, including consultants are overly analytical attempting to prove or disprove the merits of the ACA with tables, graphs and diagrams outlining ObamaCare, how much it will cost and how much it will save, and how many more souls will now have health insurance.
They ignore the common sense question….why is there much opposition to the law?
And as more deadlines approach for mandates the opposition grows. The nuts and bolts which account for success or failure are whirring and grinding. Is it because it was planned in committee rooms and in the planning process key experts who did not follow the Democratic vision were excluded from the process early on. Isn’t this why the Republicans could not or would not vote for the ACA. Is this what led up to the Budget Stalemate and the Debt Ceiling Crisis?
Failure does not have to be the end of the Affordable Care Act, however the early phases should set off loud alarm bells at HHS and in Congress. Mr Obama has two choices….to fall on his sword and ask both parties to reconnoiter and rethink Health Reform either by amending the law or have it repealed.
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