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August 28, 2009
Democratic Health Care Bill Divulges IRS Tax Data - Taking Liberties
Democratic Health Care Bill Divulges IRS Tax Data - Taking Liberties
One of the problems with any proposed law that's over 1,000 pages long and constantly changing is that much deviltry can lie in the details. Take the Democrats' proposal to rewrite health care policy, better known as H.R. 3200 or by opponents as "Obamacare."
Section 431(a) of the bill says that the IRS must divulge taxpayer identity information, including the filing status, the modified adjusted gross income, the number of dependents, and "other information as is prescribed by" regulation. That information will be provided to the new Health Choices Commissioner and state health programs and used to determine who qualifies for "affordability credits."
Section 245(b)(2)(A) says the IRS must divulge tax return details -- there's no specified limit on what's available or unavailable -- to the Health Choices Commissioner. The purpose, again, is to verify "affordability credits."
Section 1801(a) says that the Social Security Administration can obtain tax return data on anyone who may be eligible for a "low-income prescription drug subsidy" but has not applied for it.
Over at the Institute for Policy Innovation (a free-market think tank and presumably no fan of Obamacare), Tom Giovanetti argues that: "How many thousands of federal employees will have access to your records? The privacy of your health records will be only as good as the most nosy, most dishonest and most malcontented federal employee.... So say good-bye to privacy from the federal government. It was fun while it lasted for 233 years."
I'm not as certain as Giovanetti that this represents privacy's Armageddon. (Though I do wonder where the usual suspects like the Electronic Privacy Information Center are. Presumably inserting limits on information that can be disclosed -- and adding strict penalties on misuse of the information kept on file about hundreds of millions of Americans -- is at least as important as fretting about Facebook's privacy policy in Canada.)
A better candidate for a future privacy crisis is the so-called stimulus bill enacted with limited debate early this year. It mandated the "utilization of an electronic health record for each person in the United States by 2014," but included only limited privacy protections.
It's true that if the legislative branch chooses to create "affordability credits," it probably makes sense to ensure they're not abused. The goal of curbing fraud runs up against the goal of preserving individual privacy.
If we're going to have such significant additional government intrusion into our health care system, we will have to draw the privacy line somewhere. Maybe the House Democrats' current bill gets it right. Maybe it doesn't. But this vignette should be reason to be skeptical of claims that a massive and complex bill must be enacted as rapidly as its backers would have you believe.
Update August 27 11 a.m: Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center says in e-mail: "We would oppose section 431(a) of the bill because it violates the intent of the Privacy Act which generally requires agencies to obtain information directly from individuals and not from other agencies." EPIC still hasn't updated their Web site to reflect this sentiment, but it's good to know that other folks have concerns too.
Wild Thing's comment........
"Over at the Institute for Policy Innovation (a free-market think tank and presumably no fan of Obamacare), Tom Giovanetti argues that: “How many thousands of federal employees will have access to your records? The privacy of your health records will be only as good as the most nosy, most dishonest and most malcontented federal employee.... So say good-bye to privacy from the federal government. It was fun while it lasted for 233 years.”
Whoa!!!!!!!!!
I think the left envisions these rationing boards making decisions based on political affiliation, the amount of taxes you pay, if a person is still working or retired and all of this I bet will have direct bearing on whether we get treatment.
This entire thing is so sickening, so against our Constiution and humanity as well.
Plus all this about our government having everything on file about us, bank accounts, medical information, so many things, this is beyond wrong too. The whole blooming thing should be trashed.
Healthcare is not the point of this obamaDEATHcare. Total control over everyone is.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at August 28, 2009 06:40 AM
Comments
This bill not only gives the government access to your IRS file but also give the government access to all your financial records and access to you accounts. So forget leaving anything to your family its all going to the government.
This make me wonder what else is going on here. What else do they want to pay for that would cost us our Elderly and infants. What program do they want to fund that they don't have enough money for now but by rationing Health Care would give them enough to fund this unknown item.
Posted by: Mark at August 28, 2009 09:11 AM
Is there anything that this congress and administration can touch without turning to fascism?
Posted by: Avitar at August 28, 2009 09:25 AM
And they've put tracking cookies on your computer if you've ever gone to a government site. I do my taxes online at IRS.gov so I'm sure I've got one. Or many. I hope they are having a great time following me around.
Citizens know more about these bills than their congress critters...this shit won't fly and if it does, hell to pay. I think we are already there if ACORN in their next reincarnations doesn't already have all the cheatin figured out.
There will be a rally next year to call people who live in urban and suspect areas to volunteer for poll watching duties. Awakened the sleeping giant indeed.
Posted by: Eden at August 28, 2009 09:53 AM
Mark - to answer your last question they will need the money to fund government security forces such as ACORN, AmeriCorps, the Black Panthers, etc. These groups would be used to enforce new laws.
Eden - if I knew for sure the govt. was chasing my computer ramblings around, I might start going to some porno sites. That way they would probably bog down in their perverted enjoyment. Most of the sites I go to would bore them. Heck, we might pick up some converts to theodore's world.
Posted by: TomR at August 28, 2009 02:23 PM
Mark, if this happens I will be really
concerned with one of Obama's ACORN
people being able to get in an rob us.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 28, 2009 05:01 PM
Avitar, good question, so far it fascism
is winning with their help.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 28, 2009 05:05 PM
Eden, same here....hahaha good one.
"I hope they are having a great time following me around."
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 28, 2009 05:08 PM
Tom, LMAO good one.How funny.
Posted by: Wild Thing at August 28, 2009 05:09 PM
