Like House Republicans, we too are interested in learning how everyone's favorite government agency this time of year - the Internal Revenue Service - will spend the $500 million it's getting toward implementing the national health care law.
The Hill, a Washington, D.C., newspaper, reported last week that the Department of Health and Human Services has transferred $200 million to the IRS to help in getting Obamacare up and running and will fork over another $300 million by the end of the year.
The money is part of $1 billion set aside for getting health care reform started.
Several major components of the health care law, such as the mandate that people buy insurance, will fall under the IRS' purview, The Hill reported.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., and Oversight subcommittee Chairman Charles Boustany, R-La., have asked IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman to provide a report on what the IRS expects to spend over the next decade, how many employees are working on the health care aspects and what aspects they are addressing.
We're curious to hear what they learn. While the subject of health care reform has been debated, not a lot of attention has been paid to the cost of implementing and administering the various components.
Because all of that ultimately will affect what Americans have to pay for health care, we deserve to know what those costs may be.
