Saturday, May 17, 2014

One Million Americans Getting Wrong ObamaCare Subsidies

by JASmius

I never thought I would get tired of saying "See, I told you so," about ObamaCare, and I'm still not.  But I am starting to reconsider the possibility:

More than one million Americans may be receiving the wrong ObamaCare subsidies and the government has not been able to solve the issue yet — meaning people who inadvertently got too much money could face crippling tax bills in upcoming years.

According to internal documents and people familiar with the situation, Americans who listed incomes on their insurance applications that differ significantly with what is on file with the Internal Revenue Service are likely receiving too much money, reports the Washington Post....

There's your next unconstitutional Obama waiver, folks.

Normally....

....meaning, of course, "in the private sector"....

....customers are notified if there is a problem with their applications and told to upload or mail in their proof of income. But only a few have done that, say IRS documents, and even for those who have, the federal computer system for the marketplace isn't able to match the proof with the application because the capability to do that hasn't been built.

The unprocessed documents are being stored at federal contractor Serco's Kentucky office as the improper subsidies keep being paid, and under current rules, people who get the subsidies will be required to return the extra money next year.

....meaning, of course, after the midterm election.

If the name Serco doesn't ring a bell, go back a few days to this post.  Or, if you insist, resume quote:

Federal health officials and Serco, facing pressure from the White House, are starting this weekend to resolve the inconsistencies. Serco, however, is facing its own issues, with dozens of workers complaining this past week that they're sitting idle,  playing games, or looking busy punching a computer button every 10 minutes because they're not being given enough work to fill their days.

Remember, they're supposed to be processing eight million ObamaCare application forms, or a portion thereof, that couldn't be processed electronically because of the unmitigated disaster that is healthcare.gov.  Now dropping this subsidy FUBAR in their laps would, one would think, give them plenty to do, but then I would have thought the same thing of processing eight million ObamaCare application forms.

Speaking of which....:

The subsidy issue is one of the computer problems that have been going on since the ObamaCare marketplace website, HealthCare.gov, floundered when it was launched last October.

And although contractors have corrected many of the problems that made it difficult for Americans to choose a health plan, many parts of the website are still defective or not finished

Since the operational system isn't complete, it is impossible for federal officials to know how many of the 8 million people who have signed up for healthcare coverage have paid their premiums, or how many enrollments were attempted but never completed.

Members of the Obama administration, however, promised congressional Republicans last year that an income-verification system would be in place.

But have no fear, folks, because eight million Americans have "enrolled" in ObamaCare, so "the debate is over," and it's an "unqualified success".

None ought wonder why I call the Unaffordable Care-Less Act an "ongoing cataclysm".  The question is, will enough Americans ever have their fill of it?  'cause I don't think there's a subsidy for that.

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