10.30.13

HHS Reverses Course, Reissues Obamacare Prison Contract To Same No-Bid Company

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today after the Department of Health and Human Services abruptly reversed course and reissued a controversial sole-source contract for a Chicago company to promote the President’s health law to individuals in prisons:

"I’m disappointed that the cancellation notice posted by HHS did not mean they had actually abandoned their effort to award this unwise project. The Department apparently persists in granting a no-bid contract when there are already multiple overlapping programs with the same goal. A special program to enroll prisoners on Obamacare cannot be justified in light of hundreds of millions already being spent on ‘Navigators’ and enrollment ‘Assisters.’

I also consider it unacceptable that HHS has yet to respond to the issues raised in the letter I sent more than three months ago, despite promises made to my staff that a response was forthcoming. These are important and reasonable questions—and HHS owes the Congress prompt and complete answers. I intend to follow up with Secretary Sebelius to get answers on behalf of taxpayers."