Mr. President, read the health care bill, Part II

My earlier post explaining that you will not be able to keep your health care plan even if you like it, brought a good question from several readers. It concerned the “tax” that will be imposed on you if you do not participate in a “qualified plan”.  Remember, that’s the tax designed to “enhance participation” in a qualified plan.

How will government know if I’m in a qualified plan, you asked?  Some scofflaws even suggested that they would simply tell the government they are in a qualified plan, even if they are not, and, that will be that.

Not so fast.

Subtitle D, Section 161 of the Affordable Health Choices Act amends the Internal Revenue Code, to add the following:

Every person who provides health insurance that is qualified shall make a return…contain[ing] (A) the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each individual who is covered under health insurance that is qualifying coverage…and (B) the number of months during the calendar year during which each such individual was covered under such health insurance…[emphasis supplied]

You can find this Orwellian provision beginning at page 107 of the above link.

Armed with this information, the Internal Revenue Service can simply match the taxpayer ID numbers of those in qualified plans with the taxpayer ID numbers of all taxpayers, and voila.  The scofflaws are identified, taxed, and “encouraged” to change their ways.