Judicial Watch: IRS May be Sharing Your Health Insurance Status in Violation of Federal Law
Judicial Watch announced Friday morning that it has filed yet another Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the federal government.
This time, the government watchdog group is suing the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health & Human Services for records relating to the sharing of private taxpayer information under Obamacare. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the agencies refused to comply with its Nov. 15 FOIA requests for records concerning their efforts to reach out to individuals claiming an exemption or paying a penalty for failing to purchase the mandatory Obamacare health insurance.
Judicial Watch also sought records where protected taxpayer information was shared between the IRS and HHS or any other state or federal government entity in violation of the Internal Revenue Act. The group cited a letter from members of the House of Representatives to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and a Washington Times report that state Obama administration officials wanted to use IRS files to identify and contact the millions of Americans who have refused to sign up for insurance.
The group’s president, Tom Fitton, said this is further evidence the Obama administration “misused the IRS.” He said it was used this time to promote the “ill-fated health care scheme” of Obamacare.
“As the Trump administration and the Congress wrestle over Obamacare, it’s important to understand the full extent of the Obamacare ongoing assault on taxpayers and the rule of law,” he said. “And it would be nice if the Trump agencies would stop the stalling and finally begin obeying the freedom of information law.” {eoa}
