Equifax Holds Contract to Verify Data of ACA Exchange Customers

Equifax Inc., which said last week it suffered a breach that exposed the personal data of 143 million Americans, holds a contract to check incomes and other data of people who bought health insurance in the Affordable Care Act exchange system.

(Related: HealthCare.gov Registers 7,350 Agents for 2018)  

The credit data firm has a $329 million, five-year government contract which ends in March to verify the incomes of people purchasing coverage through the health exchanges. The Affordable Care Act provides subsidies to help people afford health insurance depending on their income levels.

Government officials that administer the Obamacare program were informed the data wasn’t part of the breach and is continuing to monitor the situation, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said. The Equifax breach affected almost half the U.S. population. Equifax didn’t return questions seeking comment on Monday.

U.S. government contract data reviewed by Bloomberg shows the credit bureau is the only contractor doing income-verification work related to the Affordable Care Act. About $104 million of the contract has been paid out, according to the contracting data. The full total might not be paid because of overestimates of how many people would sign up for plans under the law.