IRS may turn in PPACA fraud plan a year late

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may be making vigorous efforts to prevent and detect fraud related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), but it is far behind with thinking about the picture.

Officials at the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), a watchdog agency that keeps tabs on the IRS, have come to that conclusion in a report on IRS progress at fixing problems identified by TIGTA.

TIGTA is worried about how well the IRS has identified the manufacturers that ought to be paying a new PPACA medical excise tax that took effect in 2013.

The agency also wants to know how well the PPACA public exchange system will protect confidential taxpayer data, and how well the IRS will detect schemes related to the PPACA premium tax credit.

TIGTA officials noted that they told the IRS in September 2013 to strengthen premium tax credit project systems development controls. To meet that requirement, the IRS was supposed to put a strategic plan for developing a PPACA premium fraud mitigation strategy in its operating manual. The strategic plan was due Sept. 25, 2014.