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March 5, 2020

HHS Records Related to a White House Healthcare Meeting with Conservative Leaders

Records from the Department of Health and Human Services in response to American Oversight's request for records related to a July 12, 2019, meeting at the White House attended by Secretary Azar, Domestic Policy Counsel Director Joe Grogan, and conservative leaders.

In response to our Freedom of Information Act request for records from a July 12, 2019 meeting at the White House attended by Secretary Azar and outside groups, American Oversight received the agenda and a list of attendees from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The purpose of the “listening session” was to “communicat[e] with “thought leaders on the principles of the Administration’s view for insurance reform.” The meeting’s agenda asked attendees to consider questions regarding health-care affordability and what “supply side” or “demand side changes” they would recommend making to the health-care system. It also mentions ways for “Building Great Healthcare in America,” including “always protect[ing] people with preexisting conditions” and “never again penaliz[ing] people who don’t want to buy government-approved health insurance.”

The attendees include a long list of conservative groups, many dedicated to dismantling the Affordable Care Act. There’s even a “category” column on the attendee list, and nearly all the groups are labeled “conservative.” White House attendees include Joe Grogan of the Domestic Policy Council and Brook Rollins of the Jared Kushner-led Office of American Innovation.