With fewer Americans opting to enroll in President Barack Obamas federal health-care program online due to the well-reported problems at Healthcare.gov and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius admitting felons could become navigators, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill on Thursday to raise standards on navigators and hopefully crack down on fraud.
Rubios Healthcare Privacy and Anti-Fraud Act would ensure training and background checks for navigators enrolling Americans in the health care program. The legislation would also impose criminal penalties on navigators who compromise Americans personal information and on con men claiming to be navigators. The legislation would also create lists of authorized navigators and those deemed ineligible to serve as navigators or convicted of crimes under the statute."
The new bill came a day after Sebelius admitted felons could become navigators and gain access to Americans Social Security numbers and other confidential information. Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee, Sebelius tried to defer criminal background checks for navigators to the states when facing questions from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
States could add in additional background checks and other features, but it is not part of the federal requirement, Sebelius said.
So a convicted felon could be a navigator and could acquire sensitive personal information from an individual unbeknownst to them? Cornyn asked.
This is possible, Sebelius admitted.
Even as Sebelius confessed felons could be included in their ranks, Obama was in Texas praising navigators.
Even if the website were working 100 percent, a lot of people would still need help to navigate through this stuff, Obama told a crowd in Dallas, which included navigators, on Wednesday. A high percentage of people who dont have health care also might not have ready access to a computer right away, or it might be confusing for them and they would need people to help guide them through this process. And thats true, by the way, if they were buying any kind of insurance. Sometimes it's a complicated process.
So my main job here today is to say thank you, Obama said. Nothing is going to stop us from getting this done, because we're on the right side of history. It is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do for our economy, our businesses and our families.
Rubio has sponsored legislation calling for delaying the individual mandate due to the continued website problems and his new bill has a similar provision. The new legislation would create a safe harbor on the individual mandate for Americans who are incorrectly guided by navigators and fraudsters portraying themselves as navigators.
Some of the leading Republicans in the Senate, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., are co-sponsoring Rubios bill.
The Obamacare exchange websites were supposed to be the primary means for people to buy health insurance, but due to their failures so far, the federal government is forcing people to pursue other enrollment options that could make them even more susceptible to identity theft, particularly through the navigator system, Rubio said on Thursday. Just yesterday, Secretary Sebelius made a startling admission that convicted felons could become navigators.
It is unacceptable that President Obama suggest that the American people simply trust the federal government and its network of Obamacare navigators, Rubio added. As consumers are being pushed to shop for insurance through Obamacare navigators and other non-online options, they must also proceed with great care and caution against fraudsters intending to do them harm.
This is a common-sense effort to ensure that the federal government is not needlessly endangering the private information of millions of Americans, or exposing them to additional risk of fraud, Rubio insisted.
Rubio told Sunshine State News on Thursday that they were pursuing a House sponsor but were not ready to name one yet.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
