Republicans tie ObamaCare repeal vote to IRS scandal

{mosads}Mostly, they have made loose associations, noting that the IRS’s credibility is in question just as it is about to gain significant new responsibilities under the health law.

But Bachmann was more specific.

“Does this means that some government plutocrat can look at my personal healthcare data? Could I be denied healthcare? Could it be delayed? Could I be punished? Could I be embarrassed, because somebody is going to release my personal, most sensitive, intimate information? Or maybe blackmail me because of what’s in the national database? We don’t even know how this national database is going to be set up yet,” Bachmann said.

The healthcare law does not create a national database of healthcare claims. And though the IRS will verify whether people have health insurance, it is not charged with collecting information about people’s health status.

The IRS’s biggest job under the healthcare law is to determine whether people are eligible for subsidies from the federal government to help pay for private insurance, and to administer those subsidies.

The tax agency is also charged with enforcing the law’s individual coverage mandate, which requires most taxpayers to either buy insurance or pay a penalty.

Other House Republicans also invoked the IRS scandal Thursday, pointing out the IRS’s significant role in enforcing the healthcare law at a time when its motivations and professionalism have been called into question.

“The recent deplorable actions at the IRS have shattered our trust that they can responsibly handle the people’s sensitive medical information,” Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) said.