Nine Questions Vermont’s Health Care Reform Chief Hasn’t Answered About Jonathan Gruber Contract

Lawrence Miller, Vermont’s health care reform chief, wants to give the impression that he’s fired controversial MIT professor Jonathan Gruber, the “architect” of Obamacare. Gruber had signed a lucrative $450,000 personal services contract with Vermont before his frank admissions the law was designed to deceive “stupid” American voters became public.

Miller issued a statement in which he said:

“I have told Mr. Gruber that I expect his team to complete the work that we need to provide the legislature and Vermonters with a public health care financing plan. I’ve informed Mr. Gruber that that we will not be paying him any further for his part in completing that work.”

But as Breitbart News has reported, the contract apparently remains in force as originally signed in July 2014.

On Saturday, former Vermont Governor Jim Douglas blasted the state’s contract with Gruber, stating that “deceiving the public is not the Vermont way.”

Breitbart News has attempted to obtain a comment from Mr. Miller to explain numerous inconsistencies between his public comments and the current legal status of the Gruber contract.

To date, Miller has not responded to our questions.

Miller is not the only member of Democratic Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin’s administration who’s stonewalling requests for information on the state’s contract with Gruber. Breitbart News also emailed Secretary of Administration Jeb Spaulding, Deputy Secretary of Administration Michael Clasen, Director of Health Care Reform Robin Lunge, and administration official Michael Costa for comment on the state’s contract with Gruber. Like Miller, none of these Shumlin administration officials have responded.

This lack of responsiveness is unusual in a state that prides itself on centuries of open government.

1. What level of oversight have you personally provided on the Gruber contract?

2. Do you consider the lack of detail provided in his invoices to be consistent with good business practices?

3. Have Professor Gruber and the Secretary for the Agency of Administration Jeb Spaulding signed a written amendment to the contract along the terms you outlined in your press conference last week?

4. Has the Attorney General approved any such written amendment? (Note: such approval is required within the terms of the original contract on any amendment to the contract.)

5. Under the revised terms you outlined in your press conference, will Professor Gruber be paid the $40,000 billed but retained against his first two invoices totaling $200,000, which were submitted prior to November, subsequent to the satisfactory completion of the contract?

6. By what mechanism will you pay Professor Gruber’s research assistants going forward for their work? Will you pay Professor Gruber based upon his subsequent invoices, relying upon him to pay his research assistants?

7. If so, will you require more detail as to the names of the research assistants and evidence they’ve been paid?

8. Will you, instead, pay the research assistants directly based on invoices they submit?

9. If so, is that legal, given the fact that they are not the contracting party?

Breitbart News reached out to Mr. Miller again on Tuesday, but hasn’t yet received a response.