Dive Brief:
- The Internal Revenue Service could identify and reach out to almost a third of the remaining uninsured -- an estimated 10 million people -- by looking at who received a federal earned income tax credit (EITC) in 2014, suggests a recent study by the Urban Institute.
- However, the IRS does not inform tax filers with low and moderate incomes who appear to qualify for Medicaid or for ACA plan subsidies they may have these options.
- The Urban Institute calls it a lost opportunity to find and connect eligible, uninsured people with opportunities to gain health coverage.
Dive Insight:
Despite the impact of the Affordable Care Act in reducing the uninsured rate to its lowest level, U.S. Census data indicate about 33 million people remain uninsured, Kaiser Health News reports. While some local efforts have been made to identiy the uninsured and reach out with information and assistance in accessing coverage, the IRS and federal government could take the efforts far further.
The Urban Institute researchers say officials should use the tax data and data from other assistance programs.
“The U.S. Treasury could explore notifying all individuals receiving the EITC in the past year that they may be eligible for substantial financial assistance for coverage,” the report states. It suggests the Treasury could also offer an easy route, such as text messaging, for interested individuals to ask to connect with a navigator for further information and assistance.
However, the IRS' current involvement is limited to directing people from its website to HealthCare.gov to learn about health insurance options, and to advising tax preparers to inform eligible clients about their options. However, as KHN notes, many eligible people don’t use tax preparers.