Republican-led US House panel issues subpoenas to eight health insurers, Axios reports

Feb 10 (Reuters) – House Judiciary Committee Republicans have subpoenaed eight Affordable Care Act health insurers for documents as part of a widening investigation of potential fraud surrounding the use of premium subsidies, Axios reported on Tuesday.

Subpoenas were issued to Elevance, CVS, Centene, GuideWell, Oscar Health, Kaiser Permanente, Health Care Service Corporation and Blue Shield of California by Republican House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, the report said.

The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. The committee could not be immediately reached.

Health insurers have faced criticism as millions of Americans face dramatic increases in their Obamacare insurance costs following the expiration of special COVID-era tax credits.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan issued subpoenas on Monday to get health insurers to send lawmakers more information on their subsidized ACA enrollees and discussions on subsidy-related fraud, the committee told Axios.

The insurers must send the information to the House Judiciary Committee by Feb. 23, according to subpoenas viewed by Axios.

Jordan had asked the companies for documents and information in December after federal auditors showed they had obtained subsidized coverage for almost two dozen individuals who did not exist and identified other fraud risks in the system, the report said.

The subpoenas ask for documents showing the number of enrollees at each organization receiving ACA subsidies and how much money it received from the subsidies between 2020 and 2025, according to documents viewed by Axios.

The follow‑up letters sent to the insurers on Monday, along with the subpoenas, indicated that while each company replied to the December inquiry, none of the responses met Jordan’s expectations, Axios reported.

CVS told Axios it received the letter and is cooperating, while Centene said it was providing information with the goal of fighting fraud and increasing access.

Blue Shield of California told the website it has worked in good faith with the Judiciary Committee and provided multiple responses, including data showing no evidence of phantom enrollees.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens)