House Republicans are questioning CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner's action of advising staff to delete an Oct. 5, 2013, email from her concerning how to handle telephone calls from people applying for health coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a report from The Hill.
Republicans claim Ms. Tavenner's action was contradictory to CMS' claimed practice of advising staff to retain copies of emails. In the first line of the email from Ms. Tavenner, she writes, "please delete this email but see if we can work on call script." Republicans are questioning why Ms. Tavenner requested the email be deleted and want to know if she made similar requests in other emails, according to the report.
CMS has not commented on why Ms. Tavenner requested the email be deleted. However, the release of the email supports the GOP's accusations that the administration was attempting to hide emails during the health reform launch.
More articles on the PPACA:
Is public opinion on the PPACA more about politics than performance?
5 recent legislative developments affecting the healthcare industry
Thousands must prove PPACA plan eligibility or lose coverage