The secretary said she contacted St. Louis-based Ascension Health, as well as Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and Johnson & Johnson, to encourage them to “look at” assisting Enroll America, a nonprofit group leading efforts to connect the uninsured with affordable coverage.
She denied specifically asking those companies for financial support but acknowledged she had made separate fundraising calls to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and tax preparation firm H&R Block — organizations HHS does not directly regulate — to request donations to support implementing the health law.
Secretary Sebelius said no federal law bars her from seeking private donations and that “public-private partnerships” are standard strategies for implementing legislative overhauls used in the early days of the Children’s Health Insurance Program under President Bill Clinton’s administration and at the launch of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program during President George W. Bush’s tenure.
Congressional Republicans have slammed the secretary for making the calls, claiming the move raises legal and ethical concerns.
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