Unsurprisingly, not all the Obamacare bugs have yet to be fixed. Most recently, undercover investigators were able to use false identification to procure taxpayer-subsidized health insurance under President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. The chink in the armor this time seems to be the call centers, where exhausted customers turn to after failing to register using the website.
The investigation was carried out by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), who reported to a House committee that 11 out of the 18 attempts made were successful. The verification process also needed some tweaking, the GAO reported. In two of the successful attempts, two applications had parts that were actually approved by the process. Still, the GAO stressed that these are just preliminary findings and nothing is conclusive.
For real life crooks though, taking advantage of the government’s new health system may be easier said than done. Government health care subsidies are transferred straight to health insurance companies, giving thieves a tough time getting their hands on the dough. Regardless, it give Republicans fresh ammo to go after the Affordable Care Act.
Some of the questions brought up include what other kinds of flaws in the system have not been discovered. No one has forgotten the virtual traffic jam the website experienced after it first launched. The GAO has argued that even though over 8 million people have been able to successfully sign up for Obamacare, there is still a huge number of applicants whose data is inaccurate.
Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., argued that the Affordable Healthcare Act is costing the government even more with all these problems. He stated, as reported by The Associated Press, “This is simply not a question of whether one likes the administration’s health care law; it’s a question of being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.”
Democrats refuse to hear that story again. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said, “We will not go back to a time when Americans did not have access to affordable health insurance.” He argued that the time has come for Republicans to accept that Obamacare is here to stay. Instead of poking holes in the dam, Republicans should focus their efforts on creating solutions.
Author: Ben Feinstein
Photo: VIA U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES@HHS.GOV/HEALTHCARE
