Cause of Action, a public interest law firm, is filing a Freedom of Information Act requesting more details on how the federal government may be using sensitive taxpayer information to market Obamacare.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a fact sheet on June 21 where they highlighted their plan to increase Obamacare enrollment by reaching out to individuals who paid the Obamacare penalty for not having insurance.
"For the first time this fall, we will conduct outreach to individuals and families who paid the fee for being uninsured, or claimed an exemption from that fee, for 2015," the agency said. "This new outreach strategy, which has been recommended by outside experts and is already in use in Massachusetts, will let us directly reach millions of people who were recently uninsured and may newly appreciate the value of Marketplace coverage."
Cause of Action has sent a FOIA request to the agency to request two separate inspector general investigations to get more details about this memo.
"In an effort to boost enrollment in ACA programs, it appears the Obama Administration is attempting to market the ACA to individuals who declined coverage by using information obtained from individual tax returns," Cause of Action stated in its FOIA request. "[The agency's] decision to use protected taxpayer information raises serious concerns that [the agency] may be in violation of the law."
"The law allows for personal tax information to be used only for the limited purpose of determining Obamacare subsidy eligibility," the FOIA continued. "It does not, however, permit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to market subsidies to taxpayers who have already rejected Obamacare."
The law firm requested all records related to the memo and those related to the use of taxpayer information to contact individuals and families that paid the Obamacare penalty.
"Information obtained from tax returns should not be used to sell health insurance," said Henry Kerner, the law firm's vice president. "The federal government is obligated to protect the confidentiality of tax returns. Instead, the Obama administration appears to be mining Americans' tax returns to advertise and sell Obamacare to people who don't want it."
"It’s important to inform uninsured Americans about their coverage options and the fact that financial assistance through HealthCare.gov helps bring down the cost of insurance," said Kevin Griffis, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. "This new outreach, recommended by outside experts and already in use in Massachusetts, will let us directly reach millions of people who may not currently know their options."