THE OBAMACARE MONEY PIT: An HHS Office of Inspector General audit reveals that almost $3 billion worth of Obamacare taxpayer subsidies (to help people buy the required health insurance) for a 4-month period between Jan.-April 2014 cannot be verified.  This is auditor-speak for “the money was wasted,” given to individuals who were not eligible to receive them under the law.

“[The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] CMS’s internal controls did not effectively ensure the accuracy of nearly $2.8 billion in aggregate financial assistance payments made to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act during the first four months that these payments were made,” the OIG said. 

“CMS’s system of internal controls could not ensure that CMS made correct financial assistance payments,” they said.

The OIG reviewed subsidies paid to insurance companies between January and April 2014. The audit found that CMS did not have a process to “prevent or detect any possible substantial errors” in subsidy payments.

The OIG said the agency did not have a system to “ensure that financial assistance payments were made on behalf of confirmed enrollees and in the correct amounts.”

This is only the tip of the iceberg, as it only involves a snapshot of four months. But who cares about a few billion wasted tax dollars? After all, Obamacare is working–even for people who aren’t entitled to it!