By Rajwa Quasim
The Trump administration announced that it would suspend health coverage for more than 760,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees it says were fraudulently signed up. Vice President JD Vance announced the move, saying it was part of an administration-wide effort to combat fraud.
The administration expects the action to save an estimated $2.2 billion in taxpayer funds. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), roughly 315,000 plans were already canceled last month because of unverified citizenship or immigration status and suspected improper enrollment.
The federal agency also announced that it would bar 569 insurance brokers accused of filing 2026 applications in implausibly high volumes without basic verification information, including Social Security numbers.
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz described the affected enrollees as a combination of “phantom” registrations and people who do not meet eligibility requirements. He also said some individuals were enrolled by brokers without their knowledge.
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Oz claimed that 35% of people currently enrolled in the ACA marketplace have never used the program, including for prescriptions or medical care.
Vance, who leads the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, said the system allows brokers to receive payments for enrolling people without adequately verifying their eligibility.
“You have a system where, on the one hand, brokers are paid money to feed patients into the system, while on the other hand, the government isn’t even checking whether the people enrolled are actually eligible for the program. What do you have? Of course, rampant, rampant fraud,” Vance said.
The administration is also reviewing the eligibility of another 419,000 people.
To address what officials described as “broker-driven fraud,” CMS is using an expedited rulemaking process to impose a nationwide six-month freeze on new broker registrations for ACA marketplace plans, bypassing the usual public comment period.
Officials said some brokers altered existing policies without authorization and submitted inaccurate information to collect fees. Brokers without active 2026 registration will remain locked out of the system until Feb. 1, 2027.
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About 19.2 million people were enrolled in ACA marketplace health plans in early 2026. Enrollment rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic after federal legislation increased subsidies and made coverage more affordable, reaching about 22 million people at its peak.
The enhanced subsidies were later extended but have since expired. As a result, millions of people have dropped their insurance coverage this year as healthcare costs have increased and additional financial assistance has ended. Higher monthly premiums have made coverage unaffordable for some households.
CMS said improper enrollments could result in as much as $6.6 billion in improper federal funding for this year’s plans. The agency expects to recover about $2.2 billion in advance premium tax credit payments associated with the canceled enrollments.
Oz described the current findings as the “tip of the iceberg,” suggesting the amount could increase as the review continues.
ACA marketplace plans provide subsidies based on household size and estimated annual income. The law remains in place despite repeated efforts by Trump and Republicans to repeal or substantially change it.