Senate Democrats Demand Info From HHS About Its Anti-Ocare PR Campaign

Source: dailybeast



They also suggest that the Department's Secretary may be violating the law with this anti-Obamacare tweets
Sam Stein
07.22.17 12:37 PM ET

A trio of Democratic Senators has written the Department of Health and Human Services demanding more information on the money it has spent on a public relations campaign to effectively undermine Obamacare.

In their letter, Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) request specific expenditures the department has made on a series of anti-Obamacare testimonial videos posted to HHS’ website. They also suggest that the department's Secretary, Tom Price, may have violated the Anti-Lobbying Act in encouraging repeal-and-replace efforts.

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Critics don't see the department's PR effort as educational. Rather, they've deemed it a form of sabotage, arguing that it is part of a broader campaign from the Trump administration to facilitate the law’s collapse so that lawmakers come together around a conservative replacement......................................

On Thursday, it was reported that the administration had ended contracts in 18 cities in which local institutions were given resources to help shoppers try and purchase insurance. On Friday, it was reported that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was ending two Obamacare outreach contracts with the same general tasks. .....................................

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/senator-democrats-demand-info-from-hhs-about-its-anti-ocare-pr-campaign

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And from an earlier discussed in the OP:





http://www.thedailybeast.com/team-trump-used-obamacare-money-to-run-ads-against-it








The Enemy From Within
Team Trump Used Obamacare Money to Run PR Effort Against It


http://www.thedailybeast.com/team-trump-used-obamacare-money-to-run-ads-against-it
The administration is tasked with overseeing the health care law. Instead, it has made a major social media push to undermine it.
Sam Stein
07.20.17 1:00 AM ET

The Trump administration has spent taxpayer money meant to encourage enrollment in the Affordable Care Act on a public relations campaign aimed at methodically strangling it..........................








...............Ultimately, the HHS website is a place to obtain information on Obamacare but not a vehicle of obtaining coverage under the law. But changes have been made to healthcare.gov as well, and they’re directly related to consumer education. Under the “Get Answers” section of the site, there no longer is a “Cost & Savings” tab that allows visitors to find out where to find prices, if they have to pay penalties, or if they qualify for savings.

How much damage these alterations have had on Obamacare is ultimately unknowable. But those whose job it once was to encourage enrollment insist that the burying of information, the pausing of advertising, and creation of policy confusion has collectively had a profound effect.

“I think uncertainty causes people to freeze,” said Andy Slavitt, the former acting administrator at CMS. “So I think it is quite impactful. And look, you’re not hired into the administration to decide whether you agree with the law you’re asked to execute. That’s not your job... Congress appropriates funds for you to carry out laws that they passed, not to spend those funds on activities that counteract those laws.” ..................

Link to tweet

Link to tweet