The closing of numerous Obamacare startups is causing a political fallout, with a Republican senator now threatening to block key nominations from President Obama.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Monday that he intends to block every Department of Health and Human Services nominee unless he gets answers on the failures surrounding taxpayer-funded Obamacare insurance startups.
The Obama administration set up 23 public co-ops to help create more competition on Obamacare's insurance marketplaces. But eight have decided to shut down due to financial troubles.
Sasse said Monday he wants to get "straight answers" on problems with the co-ops. The senator said he sought answers from HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell on the closure of a co-op that served Iowa and Nebraska earlier this year, but the response was insufficient.
He wrote again to Burwell in August asking more questions, but has not received a response. The questions include whether or not the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services knew about the financial sustainability of the Nebraska/Iowa co-op that shut down in late 2014.
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