One of the little known facets of the rollout of the Affordable Care Act - also known as Obamacare - is that the government has hired a sizeable workforce that was supposed to help consumers figure out the process and enroll in health care.
The problem? There's no one watching the cookie jar. And Darlene Senger - candidate for Congress - wants to have a look at what's doin'.
In fact, she compares it to the boondogle that is Governor Pat Quinn's 2010 anti-violence program. She's introduced a resolution in the Illinois House to audit the program, but it has a brick on it.
From the Illinois Review:
ObamaCare has created a new and massive bureaucratic infrastructure that is being used to convince people to sign up. One of the larger expenses is the navigator program that hires individuals throughout a state to – supposedly – help consumers make choices about their healthcare options.
Illinois has hired over 1,200 navigators costing taxpayers $36 million. This has all been done with limited oversight or accountability, and no performance metrics have been put into place to judge if the navigators are actually helping anyone.
So lax is the oversight that a convicted international terrorist was hired as an ObamaCare navigator here in Illinois. Rasmieh Yousef Odeh was convicted of terrorism in Israel for being involved in multiple bombings and was recently indicted for lying on her immigration paperwork. But none of that prevented her for becoming an ObamaCare navigator in Illinois entrusted with helping our citizens make important healthcare decisions.
Much like Governor Quinn’s $54.5 million anti-violence program from 2010 that a recent audit found to have “pervasive deficiencies in planning, implementation and management,” the navigator program has no oversight or transparency in its spending. It is yet another government program ripe for fraud, patronage and abuse.
It is imperative that we, as taxpayers, know where our money is being spent, and also identify and stop abuses before our tax dollars are wasted. In February, I introduced a resolution in the Illinois House to audit the navigator program in Illinois. My resolution is currently being held up in committee. This week, I submitted a letter demanding that the resolution be scheduled for a hearing. I will keep fighting until we get transparency for the ObamaCare navigator program in Illinois.
