This Health Care Site Did Not Verify Social Security Numbers, Citizenship Status

healthcare-dot-govHealthcare.gov’s internal controls did not effectively determine eligibility for coverage because Social Security numbers and citizenship status were not always verified properly, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) audit.

The Inspector General (IG) investigated HHS to determine whether the Federal marketplace’s internal controls determined correctly whether individuals were eligible for qualified health plans.

The IG found that the internal controls did not always correctly verify Social Security numbers, citizenship status, annual household income, and family size information to determine eligibility.

One applicant understated her income by $7,000. According to the IG, the marketplace should have compared this income data to available electronic data sources and realized that the applicant’s income was more than 10 percent below the income listed on these data sources. Then, the marketplace should have asked the applicant for additional evidence of income . . .

Another example of weak internal controls was found in efforts to verify citizenship status. The marketplace did not always verify this information through the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, as was required. (Read more from “This Health Care Site Did Not Verify Social Security Numbers, Citizenship Status” HERE)

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