Thursday, August 27, 2009

Democratic Health Care Bill Divulges IRS Tax Data

With all of the talk around the Obama administrations 1,000 page health care bill, it can be difficult to pick apart. However, CBS News published a great article this morning on one section we should all be aware of. According to the report private financial data of millions of Americans could end up being handed over to the health care choices commissioner. Read more about this story below.

One of the problems with any proposed law that's over 1,000 pages long and constantly changing is that much deviltry can lie in the details. Take the Democrats' proposal to rewrite health care policy, better known as H.R. 3200 or by opponents as "Obamacare." (Here's our CBS News television coverage.)

Section 431(a) of the bill says that the IRS must divulge taxpayer identity information, including the filing status, the modified adjusted gross income, the number of dependents, and "other information as is prescribed by" regulation. That information will be provided to the new Health Choices Commissioner and state health programs and used to determine who qualifies for "affordability credits."

Section 245(b)(2)(A) says the IRS must divulge tax return details -- there's no specified limit on what's available or unavailable -- to the Health Choices Commissioner. The purpose, again, is to verify "affordability credits."