Sebelius addresses privacy concerns about the ACA data hub. | M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO HHS gives update on exchange data

The IRS has received more then 330,000 requests from federally run and state-run exchanges to calculate the eligibility of individuals and households for insurance tax credits, according to a blog posted Saturday by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The agency has also responded to more than 1.3 million requests for income data, she said.

The blog post highlights the data hub, a central system that transmits information from multiple federal agencies including the IRS and the Social Security Administration to the exchanges to help determine eligibility for coverage.


Unlike the exchanges, the hub has been largely functioning as planned. It’s “a model of efficiency,” Sebelius wrote, emphasizing that it protects private information, something Republicans have worried about.

( Also on POLITICO: Obamacare headaches: More than the website)

“It’s important to understand that the hub is not a database,” she wrote. “It doesn’t retain or store information.”

According to the post, The SSA has reported 4.2 million transactions with the data hub involving individuals or households who have established accounts on the exchanges. Pennsylvania, New York and California are the states with the highest number of transactions.

And exchanges are getting eligible determinations from the hub in 1.2 seconds on average, the post said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 2:36 p.m. on October 26, 2013.