The political divide over the Obama health law was on full display in a U.S. House hearing on Thursday, as officials in charge of six state exchanges talked of their achievements while Republican lawmakers on the panel ridiculed the claimed number of enrollments and condemned the overall impact of the Obama health law.
"I sit before you today proud of what we have accomplished as a state and as a nation," said Peter Lee, the director of the Calfornia health exchange, as Lee said the Golden State signed up more than 1.2 million people to private health insurance plans before last Monday's deadline.
"All in all, we feel good about the progress we are making," Lee added.
"In Minnesota, 95 percent of people enrolled in health coverage have paid for it," said Scott Leitz, the interim chief of the Minnesota Health Exchange.
But if the state exchange officials were seeing a glass that was more than half full about the Obama health law, Republicans were seeing one that was well below half empty, as the title of the hearing previewed their thoughts on the matter - "Examining ObamaCare's Problem-Filled State Exchanges," it read.
"I don't know what to say, having dealt with so many disappointed constituents," said Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who seemed in disbelief at the positive answers he was getting about the Obama health law, all but accusing the state exchange officials of telling a story to the committee that just wasn't true.
"The question is, who are you going to believe?" asked DeSantis.
"Those who are defending this law, or you're own lyin' eyes?" DeSantis asked, as the staunch opponent of the Obama health law channeled an old Eagles song at one point during the hearing.
The back and forth was reminiscent of many of the political debates we have seen in the Congress over the last five years, as Republicans denounced the law, while Democrats said it was time for the GOP to give up on its efforts to repeal the Obama health reforms.
"I wish we could move past the partisan talking points," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
But Republicans weren't in any mood to move on, as they repeatedly zeroed in on the troubles that these states had with their websites.
"You haven't hit your goal," Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) bluntly told the head of the Maryland exchange, demanding to know how many people had lost insurance coverage in the Free State due to the Obama health law.
"Very few," said Joshua Sharfstein, who made Jordan's blood boil by repeatedly refusing to agree to his assertion that Maryland fell well short of its original signup estimate.
Sharfstein, a former staffer on the very same House Oversight Committee, might remember this day for the partisan whiplash he encountered, as Republicans slammed his state's work, while Democrats praised him for a "can-do" attitude about expanding health coverage.
"What we're talking about is trying to save people's lives," said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).
Still, Sharfstein and others had to sit still and acknowledge that some of their early troubles did slow down enrollment work.
"There's no disagreement about whether or not our website worked the way we wanted; it absolutely didn't," said Sharfstein, who is running things in Maryland only after the ouster of the officials originally in charge because of bad initial results.
But, as the hearing ended, it was clear nothing had really changed on the health law; Democrats remained strongly in support, Republicans strongly opposed - with no middle ground apparent and no end to this argument on the horizon.
"The frustration is obviously this is a round peg in a square hole at times," said Rep. James Lankford (R-OK), who labeled the health law a "mess."
"We continue to be proud of the work we have done," said Greg Van Pelt of the Oregon exchange.
Maybe the best way to put it is that both sides simply have agreed to disagree.
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