Remember back in 2009 when then US President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats made a lot of promises that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) – AKA Obamacare – would be very helpful to many Americans in a variety of ways? Believe it or not, Obamacare itself has fraudulent transactions and it cost taxpayers a lot of money that went to waste. That said, the Trump administration eliminated a lot of subsidies for multiple dead or duplicate enrollees which resulted in saving taxpayers roughly $1.5 billion, according to a news report by Newsmax. This development is the latest in the administration’s ongoing efforts to fight fraud, waste and federal program abuses.
To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the Newsmax report. Some parts in boldface…
The Trump administration has eliminated Obamacare subsidies for 189,000 duplicate or deceased enrollees, a crackdown on improper government healthcare payments projected to save taxpayers approximately $1.5 billion over the next year, federal officials announced Wednesday.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the action follows the discovery of people receiving taxpayer-subsidized Affordable Care Act coverage despite already having Medicare, Medicaid, or Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage, as well as individuals listed as deceased.
The latest findings are part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to combat fraud, waste, and abuse in federal health care programs after the Biden administration suspended routine eligibility checks for four years.
“When it comes to program integrity, the Biden Administration was sleeping on the job,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a CMS release.
“They paused looking for duplicate Medicaid and Obamacare coverage for four years, creating a backlog of hundreds of thousands of duplicate enrollments.“
According to CMS, the Biden administration halted periodic Medicaid and Obamacare enrollment checks between 2021 and 2024, allowing hundreds of thousands of potentially improper duplicate enrollments to accumulate.
Trump restored the verification process in 2025, when CMS ended duplicate Obamacare subsidies for approximately 551,000 people already covered by Medicaid.
The administration saved nearly $4.4 billion through those efforts last year, according to the Daily Wire.
“We’ve already saved nearly $6 billion, and we will continue to work hard to restore taxpayers’ confidence that the programs they fund are spending their hard-earned dollars wisely and efficiently,” Oz said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasized that protecting taxpayer resources helps preserve healthcare coverage for Americans who genuinely need assistance.
“Americans overwhelmingly support protecting access to healthcare for vulnerable Americans, but taxpayers shouldn’t pay twice for the same coverage,” Kennedy said.
CMS said individuals flagged for duplicate coverage receive notice and have 30 days to dispute the findings before their Obamacare subsidies are terminated.
Those affected may also appeal afterward or demonstrate that their Medicaid or CHIP coverage is ending to regain eligibility for subsidies. Similar safeguards apply when federal records incorrectly identify someone as deceased.
The Daily Wire reported that improper enrollments sometimes involve applicants misrepresenting their income or unscrupulous insurance brokers enrolling Americans without their knowledge.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you feeling glad that the US President Donald Trump and his administration are actively fighting fraud and taxpayers’ funds waste? What do you hope would be changed within Obamacare itself while Trump is still in office? Do you think there are illegal immigrants who could be receiving Obamacare benefits?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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