Transcript Enrollment Alchemy:

ACA: Bolted to Tax
Monetizing the Tax Industry’s Obamacare Work
ACA as Tax Bill

ACA makes the IRS the scorekeeper
 Health care programs use “MAGI” income definitions
 Eligibility verified with income tax data

Key parts amend Internal Revenue Code





Tax
Tax
Tax
Tax
Tax
credits expand access to coverage
reconciliation of advance payments of credits
filing requirement for those receiving credits
penalties for individual & employer mandates
reporting of coverage, etc. on tax forms
Form Revenue

Reconciliation
Customers that receive the §36B tax credits must
reconcile their advance payments (based on estimated
income) with actual credit for which they are eligible
(based on actual income)

Proof of Coverage
To the extent that the IRS enforces the individual
mandate/§5000A penalty, the IRS may request
documentary evidence of minimum essential coverage.

Details to follow
IRS will release additional guidance this summer.
What about ACA Eligibles?

Most folks file
At least 74% of Americans eligible for help under the ACA file tax returns
– including 88% of those qualifying for PTCs.

Including Young ‘Uns
More than 90% of those under age 35 who are eligible for qualified health
plan subsidies are in households that file tax returns.

But they need help
Among that ACA’s target demographic, most file tax returns with the
assistance of tax preparers (e.g., about 65% of EITC recipients file with
the aid of tax preparers).
Source: Dorn, Stan, Matthew Buettgens, and Jay Dev, “Tax Preparers Could Help Most Uninsured Get Covered,”
Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, February 18, 2014, available at
http://www.urban.org/publications/413029.html.
Breaking Links, not Bread?
Transition from SNAP to EITC as
key link to health programs:

SNAP/Food Stamps eligibility

Communing with EITC
 130% gross; 100% FPL countable
 42 states had combined systems
for Medicaid enrollment
 Only remaining tangible, material
incentive with Medicaid enrollment
 Program integrity benefit
 Is tax prep a new Mecca of health
program information?
JH’s Approach

Free help available
◦ No matter where you live or
◦ For which eligibility category you qualify (incl. Medicaid)

What’s required?
◦ Just five or six extra minutes to avoid the penalty
◦ You don’t need to touch a keyboard – or buy a stamp!

No need to go anywhere else
Leave the ACA paperwork to us.
6