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Press Release Published: Oct 29, 2013

Issa Subpoenas Obamacare Contractor QSSI for HealthCare.gov Documents

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WASHINGTON – Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., subpoenaed Quality Software Services, Inc. (QSSI), one of the main contractors hired to build HealthCare.gov, after the group failed to comply with the Committee’s original request for documents related to their role in the website’s development.

In a letter sent October 23rd, the Committee requested the information be produced voluntarily by 5:00 p.m. on October 25th and said that a subpoena would be considered if QSSI failed to do so. The letter was sent to 11 contractors in total. A complete list of the contractors that were contacted can be found here and the letter to QSSI can be found here.

“It is crucial that you provide information quickly because of the serious concerns about data security related to the lack of testing,” the letter stated. Noting that HealthCare.gov went through little, if any, testing, the letter continued: “[t]his lack of testing is concerning due to the amount of sensitive consumer information flowing through the data hub and exchanges.”

The subpoena requires QSSI to provide their contracts with Health and Human Services (HHS) related to Affordable Care Act, the amount of funding received from HHS, and all communications between QSSI employees and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Management and Budget, the White House Office, or the Office of the Vice President. The deadline for QSSI to comply is November 11th at 12:00 p.m.

It was recently announced that QSSI, a division of UnitedHealth Group, would be taking over as the general contractor tasked with fixing the troubled HealthCare.gov website.

Last week, in a separate request, the Committee also sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius seeking documents from HHS about the extent of the problems with HealthCare.gov and the website’s development. The letter set a response deadline of 5:00 p.m. on October 28th before the Committee would be forced to consider the possibility of a subpoena.