Sebelius Resigns after Botched Obamacare Rollout
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the woman in charge of overseeing the president's health care law, is resigning only six months after its botched rollout.
President Barack Obama praised her work friday in a Rose Garden ceremony where he nominated her successor.
"There are 7.5 million people across the country that have the security of health insurance most of them for the very fist time and that's because of the woman standing next to me here today," Obama said.
What does Sebelius's resignation mean for the Obama administration? David Christensen, with the Family Research Council, talks about this and more, on CBN Newswatch, April 11.
White House Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell is set to take her place. The Obama administration is hoping a new face will signify a fresh start for Obamacare.
Sebelius' term at HHS was plagued by the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act, including the crippling glitches on HealthCare.gov that persisted up to the final enrollment deadline of March 31.
"We do not have any reliable data around enrollment, which is why we haven't given it to date," Sebelius testified at a November hearing on Capitol Hill.
She also bore responsibility for the contraception mandate that forces religious business owners and groups to provide drugs that may induce abortion, something critics say violates the Constitution.
"Ultimately it is the federal government telling people of faith to violate their religious beliefs and if you don't, you're going to suffer fines and penalties," Jeff Mateer, general counsel with the Liberty Institute, told CBN News.
Still, Republicans say it's not Sebelius who's flawed but rather the health care law she defended. They warned that even after she's gone it will continue to fall short.
The Obama administration is fighting critics by touting new enrollment numbers, claiming 7.5 million people signed up by the March 31 deadline -- exceeding expectations.
But two new reports cast doubts on the rosy Obamacare numbers.
The Fiscal Times cites studies by the Rand Corporation and Express Scripts that show only 3.9 million people actually enrolled in insurance plans, a number that falls far below even the lowest enrollment expectations.
The studies also note that those who did enroll don't provide the support needed to prevent increases in premiums or deductibles.
Express Scripts found that the incoming enrollees actually require more medical attention than previous risk pools, signs that huge challenges will still remain for Obamacare.
All are problems that now await the new Health and Human Services secretary.
