Dive Brief:
- Republican lawmakers in the House subpoenaed Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday, seeking documents about payments to insurance companies under the ACA’s Basic Health Program.
- The lawmakers say the program’s funding must be authorized by Congress and accuse the White House of allowing Minnesota and New York to implement the program without such approval.
- Information has also been requested from Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. The program pays insurers for subsidies they provide to low-income enrollees.
Dive Insight
In addition to Lew, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady of (TX) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (MI) subpoenaed three Internal Revenue Service officials, seeking their appearance for depositions.
“These expenditures have totaled more than $5 billion to date and are estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to amount to approximately $170 billion over the next 10 years,” Upton and Brady said in a news release.
The lawmakers said a subpoena to Burwell was put on hold after she agreed in a phone call with Upton to provide a briefing on the matter.
Lew has argued the documents should not be handed over because they’re evidence in litigation brought by House GOP to nullify the payments, according to Modern Healthcare.