The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Tuesday it canceled approximately 315,000 unauthorized Affordable Care Act enrollments covering more than 760,000 individuals, a move the agency expects will result in the return of roughly $2.2 billion in advance premium tax credits.
Marketplace Enforcement
The agency said it has issued termination notices to more than 200 non-compliant agents and brokers since January and sent 569 notices of intent to terminate this summer over applications missing information such as Social Security numbers.
CMS is also temporarily pausing new 2027 registrations for agents and brokers without an active 2026 Exchange Agreement. New requirements include identity verification through Login.gov or ID.me and electronic consumer authorization before an agent or broker can act on an application.
Earlier, federal health officials said more than 1 million Marketplace enrollees lacked a Social Security number on file. CMS had also estimated that roughly 35% of Marketplace enrollments could be illegitimate.
Administration Response
Vice President JD Vance said the administration was ensuring that people receiving Obamacare subsidies were entitled to receive them.
“We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” Vance said during a Tuesday press conference.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the agency is using data and enforcement authorities to identify and recover improper payments.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized the action in an X post, saying it would “rip away health insurance from thousands” and calling the fraud rationale a “false pretext.”
CMS said it will continue working with insurers to identify and cancel unauthorized enrollments and recover associated subsidies.
Disclaimer: This content was produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Lev Radin on Shutterstock.com
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