Obamacare Is Handing Out Tax Credits With No Identity Verification

Families expect federal programs to follow basic rules. They expect taxpayer money to be protected. They expect the government to check whether a person is who they say they are. This week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed that the Obamacare marketplace is failing that test in stunning fashion.

GAO released the results of a covert audit that should alarm every lawmaker. Investigators created four completely fictitious identities and attempted to enroll them in Obamacare coverage with premium tax credits. All four were approved. All four received taxpayer subsidies. In some cases, the marketplace did not ask for any proof of identity or citizenship. In others, it accepted fictitious documents without question.

The table GAO provided tells the story. HealthCare.gov completed identity proofing for fake people using fake documents. Brokers submitted applications with no Social Security numbers and no income verification. One enrollment even included fictitious citizenship papers. Every single enrollment was accepted. Every single one resulted in advance premium tax credits being paid with real taxpayer dollars.

Democrats in Congress want to throw more money at this system. They want to expand these subsidies even further, even as GAO shows the program cannot verify the identity or citizenship of the people receiving them. That is a bad idea. Congress should reject any proposal to increase spending on a program that cannot perform the most basic eligibility checks. Lawmakers should demand accountability first. Taxpayers have every right to expect that their money is not being handed out to fictitious people.