IRS updates figure on Obamacare enrollment inquiries

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service said it has processed more than 330,000 eligibility inquiries for premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. The figure -- which covers the period since Oct. 1, when the flawed HealthCare.Gov website went live -- provides a guide to how many people have gone through the applications stage to a point where they are able to inquire whether they are eligible for premium tax credits for healthcare plans through the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace, The Hill reported Saturday. U.S. health officials plan to release an official enrollment update in November but say nearly 700,000 applications have been filed, more than half through HealthCare.gov. The IRS said is getting 80,000 requests a day for verification of personal data required on exchange applications, and has processed more than 1.3 million requests. The verification requests come through a data services hub that is part of the enrollment system. The Department of Health and Human Services said Saturday the hub is functioning well, The Hill reported. HHS said Friday it anticipates getting HealthCare.Gov operational by the end of November. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Saturday in Iowa his 21-hour talk-a-ton on the Senate floor failed to overturn or defund the ACA because Senate Republicans "chose not to unite and stand side by side with House Republicans." Delivering the keynote address at the Republican Party of Iowa's annual Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, said Republicans will come together to focus on restoration of "historic economic growth." U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa said in LeMars, Iowa, Saturday Republicans almost "killed Obamacare." "It's not dead yet, but we're not done beating on it either," he said.