Graves Votes to Protect Taxpayers from Obamacare Fraud
WASHINGTON, D.C.– U.S. Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06), a vocal opponent of Obamacare, today voted in favor of legislation requiring the Obama Administration to put in place a system that verifies household income and other coverage qualifications prior to handing out tax credits and subsidies associated with that law.
"It is incredible that the Administration has publicly stated it cannot verify this critical information, yet it will allow the program to move forward anyway," said Congressman Graves. "It's no wonder the Administration dropped this news in the middle of a more than 600-page regulation on the Friday of a holiday weekend. The opportunities for fraud and abuse are endless, potentially costing taxpayers billions of dollars, and it's just another indication that Obamacare in its entirety is unworkable. It should be permanently delayed for all Americans."
Under the law, millions of Americans would be eligible for support from the Federal government to help them afford health insurance under the new exchanges, whether through cost reduction subsidies or tax credits. However, on Friday, July 5th, the Department of Health and Human Services announced, as part of a 606-page regulation, that it will allow applicants to "self attest" under an honor system that they are eligible for this support, and will not have a system in place to verify such claims before the exchange enrollment period begins on October 1, 2013. The bill passed by the House today, the No Subsidies Without Verification Act (H.R. 2775), would delay any issuance of tax credits and subsidies until the Administration addresses this serious flaw.
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