Verify First Act (H.R. 2581)
The House passed (238-184) H.R. 2581 that would prohibit the advance payment of health insurance premium tax credits to individuals that apply for the credits unless the Treasury Department receives confirmation from the Health and Human Services Department that such an individual's status as a citizen or lawfully present alien has been verified. If the American Health Care Act (H.R.1628) is enacted, the bill (H.R.2581) would make verification of an individual's status mandatory in order to receive advance payment of the new health insurance premium tax credit created by the American Health Care Act, and would also provide an exemption from the American Health Care Act's continuous coverage requirements for individuals who experience delays in coverage as a result of the verification process. Passed by a vote of: Republicans 231-1, Democrats 7-183
The bill, H.R. 2581, as reported by the Committee on Ways and Means, amends the premium tax credit under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code), to specify that advance payments of the credit are not to be made with respect to an individual unless the Secretary of the Treasury has confirmed with the Secretary of Health and Human Services that the individual's status as a citizen or national of the United States, or as lawfully present in the United States, has been verified. In addition, H.R. 2581, as reported by the Committee on Ways and Means, amends H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 4, 2017, to provide a similar rule with respect to advance payments of a new credit for the purchase of health insurance (effective for months beginning after December 31, 2019, in taxable years ending after that date).
Rep. Lou Barletta Press Release:
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) introduced his bill to deny health care tax credits to illegal immigrants and ensure that Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars go only to those with valid social security numbers. Barletta’s bill, the Verify First Act, H.R. 2581, is the result of a meeting he had with President Donald J. Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday, during which Barletta stated that he would not vote for the American Health Care Act (AHCA) without provisions to prevent illegal immigrants from receiving federal health benefits. Barletta announced that he will vote for the AHCA only after securing a guarantee from the president and the speaker that the House will vote on his bill.
“Since my time as mayor of Hazleton, I have fought to secure our borders and fix our broken immigration system,” Barletta said. “In order to stop illegal immigration, we need to end the practice of giving benefits to those who unlawfully enter our country. It is an outrage that a half a million illegal immigrants received three-quarters of a billion dollars in Obamacare payments, while American workers and families were priced out of their health care plans due to Obamacare’s skyrocketing premiums. My bill will protect the American taxpayer by ensuring that no tax credits are given to illegal immigrants.”
Barletta’s Verify First Act requires the Treasury Department to verify individuals’ social security numbers with both the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security before issuing health insurance premium tax credits. Barletta has been working to garner support for his bill, which the House will consider as part of the multi-step process to repeal and replace Obamacare.
A Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs report issued last year revealed that, under Obamacare, a half a million illegal immigrants received $750 million in health care subsidies. During a House Committee on Education and the Workforce Committee meeting last year, Barletta sharply questioned former Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell about the Obama Administration’s policy of handing out hundreds of millions of dollars to people who cannot prove they are in the United States legally.
You can watch Barletta’s questioning of former Secretary Burwell here.
Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer:
While Republicans claim that H.R. 2581 is necessary to ensure that only eligible individuals are approved for health insurance tax credits, in actuality the bill makes it more difficult for working families to access affordable health insurance and could result in gaps or a loss in coverage for individuals who are currently qualified. Additionally, the bill unfairly targets immigrants under false claims that large numbers of undocumented immigrants are taking advantage of these tax credits, though there is absolutely no evidence to support this premise.
H.R. 2581 amends both the Affordable Care Act and TrumpCare, which has not passed the Senate or been signed into law, to require applicants for premium tax credits to provide their Social Security number (SSN), and that the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security must verify the SSN before the applicant can receive the premium tax credits to help purchase health plans. Under current law, individuals filing U.S. tax returns are required to provide either a SSN, or in the case of an individual who is not eligible for a SSN, an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN). H.R. 2581 would prohibit the use of an ITIN for the purposes of verifying an individual’s eligibility status for the premium tax credit under TrumpCare. This increased bureaucratic barrier hinders individuals who would otherwise be eligible to receive the credits from doing so, and can lead to gaps in coverage as not all individuals have a SSN or can obtain a SSN that can be verified at the time of application, including certain lawfully present immigrants who are domestic violence and human trafficking survivors.
After passing TrumpCare last month, which the independent Congressional Budget Office confirmed would cause 23 million Americans to lose health insurance coverage and raise out-of-pocket health care costs for working families, H.R. 2581 would further disrupt the health insurance marketplace by adding additional bureaucratic hurdles that make it more difficult for families to access affordable health care. House Republicans should stop playing politics with our country’s health care system, and engage Democrats in good faith to build upon the successes of the Affordable Care Act.
