Rep. Diane Black (R., Tenn.) criticized the Obama administration’s "navigator" manual Wednesday, saying the regulations do not adequately protect people buying insurance on the new exchanges.
The administration is hiring thousands of new "navigators" who will help people buy health insurance on the new exchanges being set up in the states.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services is circulating a "Health Insurance Marketplace Navigator Standard Operating Procedures Manual" right now.
The manual is labeled "Restricted Distribution," and a copy can be found on the website of the conservative group FreedomWorks.
"This ‘Navigator’ manual appears to confirm many of my greatest concerns with this Obamacare program," Black said in statement. "These ‘Navigators’ are not required by the federal government to have background checks or to even have high school diplomas, yet they will be tasked with handling Americans’ most sensitive personal information, such as medical records and even tax returns."
"Furthermore, these ‘Navigators’ will only be required to submit to 20 hours of training, and if this manual is accurate, this training will not rigorously focus on learning our complex health care system, but will also focus on absurd lessons on smiling and saying ‘thank you’ to consumers," she said.
Black, a registered nurse, has been an outspoken critic of the law’s security weaknesses over the past few months. She introduced a bill preventing the administration from giving out subsidies without verifying the recipients’ eligibility. She also delivered House GOP weekly address discussing the risks of fraud in the law last week.