Trump administration cracks down on ‘massive fraud’ in health care, estimates billions in taxpayer savings 

The Trump administration is cracking down on fraudulent health care enrollments in a move it estimates will save taxpayers billions of dollars.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services identified 189,000 people “who had subsidized Obamacare coverage through the Federal Marketplace and either had duplicate Medicare, Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage or were deceased,” the agency said. It said it swiftly removed the subsidies “to save taxpayer dollars.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz announced the crackdown Wednesday, saying it would “prevent $738 million in improper subsidies payments for this year alone” and save more than $1.5 billion on an annualized basis.

“Taxpayers should not foot the bill for duplicate coverage or subsidies for people who have died,” Kennedy said in a statement. During a news conference, he clarified that the department is “not cutting people from Medicaid or Medicare or Obamacare or medical coverage.”

“People who are double enrolled or people who are deceased for that matter are not gaining anything from that double enrollment, and they don’t even know it in most cases that they’re double enrolled,” he said. The beneficiaries of the fraud are “managed care organizations who are getting double paid,” brokers who knowingly enroll people in duplicate plans and insurance companies, he added.

“The Trump Administration is ending massive fraud by ensuring hardworking taxpayers no longer fund Obamacare plans for the deceased or subsidize coverage for people already receiving Medicaid or Medicare,” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told Heartlander News. “This move guarantees no American loses coverage while eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.”

Schuster added that the crackdown, along with the $500 Obamacare refund checks and $90 Medicare refund checks that were recently sent out, is helping “put money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans.”

The anti-fraud push continues ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as Republicans and Democrats vie to convince voters they can make life more affordable.

An administration official familiar with the crackdown told Heartlander News that “every individual has been contacted to confirm duplicate enrollment before stopping any subsidies.” If an individual says within 30 days that they “do not have duplicate coverage,” CMS does not end their subsidies, the official said.

Under Trump, the agency routinely checks for duplicate Obamacare policies, the official said, adding that Wednesday’s action builds on a crackdown last year that “exposed 551,000 Americans enrolled in both Medicaid and ACA exchange plans, saving taxpayers $3.7 billion.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/X/HHS)