ISSA questions IRS on health law insurance subsidies

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has raised questions about the implementation of a key part of the health law -- the tax treatment of subsidies for low-income people to purchase health insurance.

The Hill: Issa Probes Talks Between White House IRS On Health Care Law
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) questioned Wednesday whether the White House pushed the IRS to implement President Obama's health care law in a way Issa believes is illegal. Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, believes the IRS is illegally implementing one of the law's crucial features -- subsidies to help low-income people buy insurance (Baker, 8/22).

Politico Pro: Oversight Questions IRS On Exchange Rule
House Republicans demanded Wednesday that the IRS justify its decision to provide tax credits through federal exchanges, arguing that the law doesn't authorize the agency to offer them. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (Calif.), joined by several GOP colleagues on the committee, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman urging him to explain why he intends to offer tax credits through federal exchanges. The letter claims that the Affordable Care Act "does not contain any language that contradicts or overrides the explicit language limiting premium-assistance tax credits to exchanges established by states" and says the committee "is conducting oversight on this IRS rule and whether IRS overstepped its legal authority in issuing it" (Cheney, 8/22).

Reuters: House Committee Seeks IRS Documents On Health Care Law
The Republican chairman of a House of Representatives investigatory panel sought documents on Wednesday from the Internal Revenue Service in a battle with the White House over the Democrats' controversial health care law. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa demanded all documents and communications between the IRS and President Barack Obama's White House after the health care overhaul law was signed into law in March 2010, in a letter released on Wednesday (Temple-West, 8/22).