Tax Preparers and Unions Getting Bounty for Obamacare Signups, Guess Who’s Paying It

 

In November 2013,  Forbes published an article entitled “Why Not Use Tax Preparers to Sign People Up for Obamacare?” The author, Howard Gleckman, thought the combination of the two made perfect sense. His proposal stemmed from the massive issues plaguing HealthCare.gov and state health exchange sites, such as Oregon and Maryland. Gleckman said, “You could make your purchase of health insurance a relatively seamless part of filing your tax return.” 

What Gleckman didn’t propose, however, was tax preparers and labor unions getting paid for every person they helped sign up for Obamacare. That is exactly what happened in California. As reported by The Daily Caller, those providing tax services, and other groups who worked to sign people up for Obamacare, were given a bounty of $58 per enrollee. 

At least 79 tax service providers, including offices of major companies like Liberty Tax Service and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, are listed as certified Obamacare enrollment entities in the state of California, according to state exchange records.

California’s Obamacare exchange, Covered California, pays enrollment entities for signing people up for Obamacare.

“Certified Enrollment Entities are paid a flat-fee of $58 per successful application and $25 per successful annual renewal,” according to California Health Benefit Advisers. ”The Enrollment Entities compensate the individual Enrollment Counselors.”

Certified Enrollment Entities in California include multiple offices of Liberty Tax Service and an Inglewood office of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. Certified Enrollment Entities can include “non-profit community organizations,” labor unions, tax preparers, community clinics and other kinds of groups.

Where is this bounty money coming from? Who else but the American taxpayer.

In addition to the news that taxpayers are on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in IRS bonuses, including bonuses to individuals disciplined for misconduct and who failed to pay taxes, taxpayers also learn that they are paying bounties for tax preparers, labor unions, and other groups to sign them up for Obamacare. 

http://www.tpnn.com/2014/04/23/tax-preparers-and-unions-getting-bounty-for-obamacare-signups-guess-whos-paying-it/