Today, Equifax extracts over $800 million worth of contracts from the federal government and state governments each year. Much of that total is for access to its Workforce Solutions product, the Work Number, which provides data on workers’ income and employment. The Work Number’s basic business model is to purchase exclusive rights to worker data from employers and payroll providers (often without a worker’s knowledge) and then sell that data to banks, creditors, and governments for a profit.

Since the United States, unlike many of our peer nations, has opted to means-test core government programs like healthcare, the government has become a huge buyer of this income data. In order to prove that a person is eligible for Medicaid, an Affordable Care Act Marketplace subsidy, or any number of safety net programs, state governments and federal agencies pay Equifax for data to verify that person’s income.

Siloed federal and state agencies will often pay Equifax half a dozen times for the same piece of income data about the same individual. For example, if a recently laid off worker applies for Medicaid, SNAP, and home heating assistance (HEAP) at the same time, a state’s Medicaid agency, human services agency and a local social services department may each pay Equifax (often a different price) for the same worker’s income data.

Unsurprisingly, Equifax has worked to establish market dominance for this spectacularly lucrative business. Through aggressive acquisition of competitors and exclusive deals with payroll companies, Equifax has hoovered up the rights to data for 99 million American workers. Having arguably monopolized electronic verification of income, Mark Begor bragged earlier this year “we don’t feel an impact from the one or two participants that have much smaller businesses.” This feeling of dominance is nicely captured by the company’s marketing slogan “Only Equifax”.