Roskam owed thanks, not vilification

Roskam owed thanks, not vilification

In a Daily Herald letter to the editor published Sept. 18, misleading health care information is an outrage. It was claimed that a Peter Roskam newsletter provided outrageous misinformation regarding the Affordable Care Act.

The outrage was in regards to the statement that the Affordable Care Act will not require the verification of income for individuals that want to apply for premium subsidies provided by the act. This statement is understandably outrageous, but it is outrageous because it is true.

The administration did choose to waive the verification requirement until at least 2015 and without it the Affordable Care Act is open to fraud. Both The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported that when the White House postponed the employer mandate during the summer, they also announced that it wouldn’t attempt to verify eligibility for insurance subsidies, which would amount to consumers essentially observing the honor system when they reported their income.

Because of the risk of fraud inherent in this policy, the House and Senate alike are seeking to enact bills that would protect American citizens from losing millions of dollars to fraud, including H.R. 2775, the No Subsidies without Verification Act, which congressman Roskam is a co-sponsor

Instead of criticizing congressman Roskam with poorly researched “information,” we should applaud him for helping protect taxpayers from fraud.

Casey A. Burnett

Naperville