HHS grapples with massive ObamaCare backlog

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

WASHINGTON – Now that the ObamaCare exchange websites are largely up and running, federal health officials are finding themselves swamped as they fact-check a flood of paperwork from applicants seeking taxpayer subsidies.

 

The Department of Health and Human Services seems to be caught between critics on both sides as it confronts the task.

 

The department, which oversees the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, has gotten hit by audits showing it hasn't done enough to crack down on fraudsters trying to scam the system. At the same time, some frustrated applicants say they have played by the rules -- signed up on time and submitted the necessary paperwork -- only to be caught up in bureaucratic red tape.

 

“We are working with consumers every day to make sure individuals and families get the tax credits and coverage they deserve and that no one received a benefit they shouldn’t,” HHS spokesman Ben Wakana told FoxNews.com.

 

HHS has been busy tracking down hundreds of thousands of Americans who bought subsidized coverage through the ACA’s insurance exchanges.

 

In most cases, HHS wants applicants to prove their citizenship, employer and income. Those who are found ineligible could end up paying for their premiums without subsidy support, and those who already benefited from subsidies may be forced to repay some or all of the money.

 

About 8 million people signed up for a health plan through the ACA exchanges -- according to HHS, that meant officials had to verify more than 160 million "individual pieces of information." In the end, they found 1.2 million had inconsistencies in their applications.

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It doesn't matter, because now they're finding out they can't get doctors anyway...