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Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius testifies on the implementation of the Healthcare.gov before the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Share your comments on Facebook and Twitter using #cspanchat. Witnesses: The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius Secretary U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Witness Testimony (Truth in Testimony) - See more at: http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/ppaca-implementation-failures-whats-next#sthash.oFFqPmd3.dpuf

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on the federal insurance exchange website and other issues related to the Affordable Care Act. Her testimony comes exactly one week after she appeared before the House Energy and Commerce Committee where she apologized to the public for what she called the "debacle." Secretary Sebelius and other administration officials have said that problems with the healthcare.gov website will be fixed by the end of this month. During her testimony today, she talks about the progress being made in that effort. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) chairs the committee...

One particularly tense moment at the Senate Finance Committee hearing Wednesday morning with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came when Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts called for her resignation again. He spoke at length during the hearing, expressing his disappointment at the lack of information provided to Congress throughout the website’s development – including some warnings of problems ahead by government investigators. “In short, Madam Secretary, I believe you were given advice, counsel and warning from experts inside your agency and out that the health care exchanges were not going to be ready. Furthermore, I believe to protect...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today acknowledged that long-awaited enrollment figures for the rocky first month of Obamacare will be “very low.” … The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also announced the abrupt retirement of the chief information officer—the first high-level departure since the botched HealthCare.gov launch on Oct 1. CIO Tony Trenkle is leaving Nov. 15 for a job in the private sector, CMS said. His deputy, Henry Chao, has been identified as a liaison to key contractors who built HealthCare.gov as well as the official who briefed the White House monthly on implementation. The CMS...

Republican Rep. Renee Ellmers : (clip) : “As far as [Obamacare’s] essential health benefits, correct me if I’m wrong — do men not have to buy maternity care?” clip Ms. Sebelius: “Well, an insurance policy has a series of benefits whether you use them or not.” Ms. Ellmers: “And that is why health care premiums are increasing, because we are forcing them to buy things that they will never need. Thank you.” Ms. Sebelius: “The individual policies cover families. Men often do need maternity care for their spouses and for their families, yes.” Ms. Ellmers: “A single male, aged 32,...

Listening to...Kathleen Sebelius’ testimony this morning, I somehow didn’t hear what may become the money moment of the entire affair. Pressed by Rep. Gardner as to why she has not, and will not, enroll in the ObamaCare exchanges (as Gardner has tried to do), Sebelius muttered “don’t do this to me.” The unwillingness of top government officials and members to subject themselves to that which they have imposed on ordinary Americans is a major sore spot in the Obamacare debate. In this context, Sebelius’ utterance can be viewed as an anthem. In addition — and this comes as no surprise...

Not only is this an egregious understatement of her own culpability, it’s horrible politics. Everyone knows that when a political crisis strikes, the surest way to soothe public/media outrage is with a phony, half-hearted “the buck stops here” statement accepting responsibility. Maybe it’s better this way. Why keep up a pretense of accountability at this point? Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will tell a House committee tomorrow the site’s botched rollout was the result of contractors failing to live up to expectations – not bad management at HHS, as the contractors suggested.

FULL TITLE: Good Grief!… Testimony Of Kathleen Sebelius Is Word-For-Word Identical To Testimony Of CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner Makes perfect sense that a one-size-fits-all government-run health care system also provides a one-size-fits-all testimony for government administration officials. House testimony of Kathleen Sebelius found here matches almost word-for-word the testimony given yesterday by CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner found here.

The Republicans have been snookered again. These 'implementation' hearings are a joke. Questioning Sebelius about the implementation of the website is a fools errand; an unwinnable exercise in futility. The regime is laughing at us behind our backs - calling us saps. Again, we've taken the bait. They're two or three steps ahead of us. It's a smokescreen; a trap - and we've fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. Arguing about the 'implementation' and the 'website' implies tacit approval of Obamacare and the ACA. If we are mad about the implementation, we are saying that it should have been...

Do we have an official thread yet? She's testifying. Or rather, she's blaming others.

Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifies on the hill, Wednesday, concerning healthcare.gov’s problems since its October 1 rollout. She’ll answer questions before the House Energy & Commerce Committee. This is the committee’s second hearing related to the website problems. Last week, four government contractors hired to help build the site testified. Tuesday, Marilyn Tavener, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, appeared before the Ways & Means Committee. CMS is responsible for setting up the federal marketplace for insurance exchanges and the Medicaid expansion. Rep. Fred Upton chairs the committee and Rep. Henry Waxman serves as Ranking...

House Republicans are starting a probe into Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius soliciting donations from companies her agency might regulate, to help sign up uninsured Americans for ObamaCare. Sebelius in recent weeks has asked various charitable foundations, businesses executives, churches and doctors to donate money to nonprofit organizations, such as Enroll America, that are helping to implement President Obama's health care overhaul. The agency said Friday there is a special section within the Public Health Services Act that allows the secretary to solicit financial support for nonprofit organizations conducting public health work