Important questions on health care

Frankly, I'm not sure when health insurance became the huge and confusing financial issue that it is today.

Do I have insurance? Can I buy insurance? Can I afford insurance? How do I get it? What happens if I don't have it?

Sadly, I don't think the Affordable Care Act has the answers - or not necessarily the right answers. Apparently, not even the right tax forms.

When I heard that some 800,000 people were sent incorrect tax statements for their 2014 coverage, I assumed that number was wrong. But no, that's the number being quoted - 800,000.

I looked into this information, and just like the Affordable Care Act, it gets very confusing very quickly. The incorrect tax statement is known as 1095-A, and 50,000 people who received these incorrect forms have already filed - and will need to file an amended return. We think.

The IRS is reviewing these filed taxes to determine what to do about them. The other 750,000 taxpayers who haven't yet filed are being told to wait until they get corrected statements.

Congressman Peter Roskam wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asking similar questions to those I am asking. Will refunds also be delayed to the people who are told not to file their taxes due to the government error? What happens to the people who have already filed their taxes? How long does everyone have to wait? How do people know if their 1095-A form is correct?

And how in the world did this error happen?

I, for one, appreciate that someone in government is willing to ask these questions. Let's hope that someone is willing to give us some answers.

Pam Thompson

Bartlett