Now do you understand Obamacare?

Beginning January, the IRS is going to be the Obamacare bagman and stasi, rolled into one.

Byron York:

The IRS is critical to Obamacare. The structure created by the Affordable Care Act requires the government to know about both the health care coverage (or lack of it) and the financial resources of every American. The IRS, which already knows the latter, was the only agency with the reach to do the job.

A look at the text of the health care law reveals that much of it consists of amending the Internal Revenue Code to give the IRS more power. When Obamacare goes fully into effect in January, every American will have to prove to the IRS that he or she has "qualifying" health coverage, meaning coverage with a list of features approved by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. That will be done by submitting a document to the IRS, something like a W-2, to confirm coverage. 

The IRS will also decide who is, and who is not, eligible for Obamacare's subsidies. The law authorizes the IRS to share confidential taxpayer information with the Department of Health and Human Services for the purpose of determining those subsidies. And since subsidies don't just apply to a relatively small number of the nation's poorest citizens -- under the law, they can go to a family of four with a household income of nearly $90,000 -- they will affect a huge segment of the population. 

In addition, the IRS will keep track of even the smallest changes in Americans' financial condition. Did you get a raise recently? You'll need to notify the IRS; it might affect your subsidy status. Have your hours been reduced at work? Notify the IRS. Change jobs? Same. 

Last August, IRS official Nina Olson testified before Congress on the changes Obamacare will bring to Americans' dealings with the nation's tax collector. "Do you believe that most Americans are going to update the IRS or state exchanges when they change jobs, get married, move states, whatever?" Michigan Republican Rep. Tim Walberg asked Olson."I think it's going to be a very great learning curve," Olson answered. If Americans don't keep the IRS up to date on their financial status, they might incur penalties, which the IRS will collect by withholding income tax refunds. "I think it will be a surprise to taxpayers if they don't update their information," Olson said.

Ever wonder why these thugs pushed the Obamacare monstrosity so hard? We could have provided healthcare coverage to the uninsured merely by expansion of Medicaid.

Why the leviathan?

Beginning January, you will be reporting all sorts of things to the IRS in detail and in real time. A change in work hours? You will inform the IRS, or break the law. A raise or a pay cut? You will inform the IRS. Change jobs? You will inform. Get married or divorced? Your IRS agent must know, promptly. You'll need to prove to the IRS that you have qualifying coverage, or face legal consequences.

The same IRS that has been demanding lists of conservatives and the names of their friends and the books they read and the blogs they follow will, beginning January, demand to know everything about your job and your finances and a lot about your personal life, and it will share that information with other government agencies.

And of course, if you're politically active, the IRS already knows a lot about your political beliefs.

Now do you understand Obamacare?