Hatch seeks records on federal exchange contractors

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has more questions about the federally run insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act.

Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, has raised several concerns about the federal exchange, which will operate in any state that doesn't set up its own marketplace. His latest letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, delivered Friday, asks about contractors for the federal exchange.

Some of the companies that received contracts to help build the federal exchange have been acquired since winning their contracts, Hatch said. He wants to know what HHS has done to ensure that the new owners don't present a conflict of interest.

Hatch's latest request is far-reaching — it seeks a list of every contractor and subcontractor working on the federal exchange, as well as documents related to their bids and selection.

He also asked for internal HHS communications about contractors that have changed hands "and a detailed description of the process used by HHS to ensure that those changes did not materially impact the initial contract award."

HHS hasn't released many details about the federal exchange. States are still largely in the dark about how it will work, and HHS has focused its efforts so far on pushing states to take on at least some of the work themselves.

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