The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Oct. 22 sent a subpoena to the Department of Health and Human Services for documents related to the creation of a Medicare managed care demonstration project, a committee spokesman told BNA.

Committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa (R-Calif.) Oct. 17 sent a letter to HHS threatening a subpoena if the documents related to the Medicare Advantage Quality Bonus Payment Demonstration were not provided by Oct. 18.

Republican leaders Oct. 19 acknowledged receipt of 1,300 pages of documents related to the demonstration from HHS but asserted the information was incomplete.

Committtee Republicans have charged that the demo--which has a price tag of $8.3 billion over 10 years--was created to help President Obama's reelection effort with seniors by offsetting MA payment cuts in the Affordable Care Act. HHS has said the demo is allowing HHS to test new ideas for saving Medicare money and is improving the quality of MA plans. HHS has yet to comment on the committee's action.