JD Vance says hundreds of thousands of people are being removed from Obamacare over suspected fraud, and the crackdown isn’t over

The Trump administration has removed 750,000 enrollees from the federal health insurance exchange due to suspected fraud. This massive effort is reportedly expected to save taxpayers approximately $2.2 billion, and there are already plans to review the eligibility of another 450,000 individuals.

As reported by the NY Post, Vice President JD Vance announced the news at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. He serves as the chairman of the administration’s anti-fraud task force and emphasized that the action targets a significant portion of the program. This move impacts about 3% of the 23 million people who registered for the health insurance subsidies this year.

“We are stopping Obamacare enrollment for about 750,000 people who we believe are fraudulently enrolled in the program,” Vance said. He explained that the administration feels confident these individuals either do not know they are enrolled, are not using the program at all, or are potentially phantom people. He further noted that some might have been enrolled against their will, or they might be people created on paper solely to defraud American taxpayers.

The remaining enrollees are under review 

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who serves as the chief of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reportedly joined the discussion to explain the reasoning behind these cuts. He highlighted the difficulty of running an insurance business when the identity of the customers remains unclear. 

“Fraud will destroy Obamacare. You cannot run an insurance business if you have no idea who’s coming in,” Oz said. He also mentioned that his team attempted to reach these individuals through various methods, including writing, Telexing, and using FedEx, but they never received a response or a filed claim.

While the first group of 750,000 has been removed, the additional 450,000 enrollees are currently under scrutiny. Oz noted that these cases had details that differed slightly from the initial fraud findings. They are reportedly being given another chance to prove they have a valid Social Security number or that they actually possessed the insurance. During the announcement, Oz also introduced a six-month moratorium on new insurance brokers and agents who enroll Obamacare customers.

This is not the first time the administration has taken aggressive steps against potential fraud. Vance previously announced the withholding of low-income Medicaid reimbursement funds from states for programs deemed at high risk. He also reportedly placed a moratorium on durable medical equipment providers for the Medicare program and suspended 447 hospice providers in California.

President Trump has made it clear that he intends to overhaul the current system if Republicans maintain control of Congress after the November 3 midterm elections. During a recent event at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, he reportedly expressed his desire to stop government payments to large insurance companies. He argued that the money should be given directly to people so they can purchase their own healthcare.