Report: Trump administration needs to step up on ‘Obamacare’
WASHINGTON — A congressional watchdog said Thursday the Trump administration needs to step up its management of sign-up seasons under former President Barack Obama’s health care law after mixed results last year in the throes of a failed GOP effort to repeal it.
The report from the Government Accountability Office is likely to add to Democrats’ election-year narrative that the administration actively undermined “Obamacare” without regard for the consequences to consumers.
The nonpartisan GAO was more nuanced. On one hand, it found problems with consumer counselling and advertising and recommended such basic fixes as setting enrolment targets. On the other, it credited administration actions that did help people enrol, such as a more reliable HealthCare.gov website and reduced call centre wait times.
Sign-ups for 2019 begin this November.