Want to apply for Obamacare this fall? Start the paperwork now. 

The Obama Administration quietly released a draft copy of its "single streamlined application” for Obamacare. This is the form that the government will use to certify eligibility for the program’s subsidies. The on-line version of that form requires 60 printed pages to spell out all the queries. (A condensed paper version of the same application fills 21 pages).

And all this comes before you fill out your state paperwork to see if you’re eligible for Medicaid (and before you even begin to select a health plan). There’s also a separate form that you’ll have to give to your employer to complete for you.

What’s in the 60-page document? Most families of four will have to answer about 1,000 discrete queries by the time they’re done. Some of the information you won’t have ready access to.

Obamacare is a triumph of bureaucratic zeal. Now it has the paperwork to match its ambitions.

In order to make sure that consumers are eligible for government subsidies to buy coverage, the feds need to make sure that you meet certain income tests, and don’t have access to alternative health coverage through your workplace (or your spouses). So you’re going to need to answer a lot of questions about your income and employment status. Here’s a sampling of what you’ll need to know:

-Scott Gottlieb