September 26, 2026 09:00 AM PST
(PenniesToSave.com) – Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday, Sept. 22, that the White House Fraud Task Force will remove about 750,000 people from Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, saying the enrollees were fraudulently signed up for the program [1]. Vance, who leads the task force, made the announcement alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus [3]. The Associated Press and CNN each reported the number of affected people as more than 760,000 [2][4].
Vance said the action will save $2.2 billion in subsidy payments, and that another 419,000 people will go through added checks on legal residency and income eligibility [3]. Oz said some of the removed enrollees are so-called phantom enrollees who do not exist, while others may have been enrolled without their knowledge [4]. About 19.2 million Americans held ACA marketplace coverage as of February, according to Department of Health and Human Services data cited by CNN [4].
The announcement arrives while health costs are already squeezing families. CNN reports that premiums for ACA, employer-based, and Medicare coverage all climbed for 2026 and are expected to rise again next year [4]. For households already rebuilding a monthly budget around higher costs, two questions matter most: whether public dollars are reaching the people they were meant to help, and what enrollees should do if their own coverage is affected [2][4].
Quick Links
- What Did the Administration Announce on September 22?
- How Did So Many Questionable Enrollments Enter the System?
- How Were Enrollees Selected for Removal?
- What Happens If a Legitimate Enrollee Is Caught in the Sweep?
- What Does $2.2 Billion Mean for Public Spending and Premiums?
- Where Does the Debate Over Program Integrity Go Next?
What Did the Administration Announce on September 22?
Vance leads the White House Fraud Task Force, which the Associated Press describes as part of an administration-wide effort to root out fraud in federal programs, including health care [2]. Joining Vance and Oz on stage were CMS Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Kimberly Brandt, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, and Chris Klomp, the nominee for Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services [3].
The exact headcount varies by source. In his own remarks, Vance put the figure at about 750,000 people [1]. The Associated Press reported that the cancellations cover approximately 315,000 enrollments representing 760,000 people [2]. CNN also reported more than 760,000 [4]. Accounts also differ on timing. The AP report and Paragon Health Institute President Brian Blase describe cancellations that have already taken place, while Fox News and CNN describe removals that are still ahead [1][2][3][4].
Beyond the removals, Vance said 419,000 more people will be checked to confirm they are legal residents of the United States and meet the income requirements for subsidized coverage [1]. The AP described that group as 419,000 enrollments rather than people [2].
The administration also turned its attention to the insurance agents and brokers who submit applications on behalf of consumers. According to CNN, brokers tied to improper enrollments will be suspended, and new brokers and agents face a six-month moratorium [4]. Officials told the AP that brokers account for a disproportionate share of the fraud they uncovered [2]. Oz said that going forward, every applicant must include a Social Security number, and CMS is adding guardrails for brokers who enroll people [4].
How Did So Many Questionable Enrollments Enter the System?
The enhanced subsidies in the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, both signed by former President Joe Biden, made coverage free for many lower-income enrollees and extended help to higher earners for the first time [2][4]. CNN reports that enrollment nearly doubled after the enhanced subsidies took effect [4].
Blase, whose think tank has published research on improper enrollment, argues that the program’s design left the door open. He said applicants qualify for subsidies based on the income they estimate on the application, and they do not have to prove it at signup [1]. He added that brokers are paid mostly on a per-member, per-month basis by insurers. On a zero-premium plan, the subsidy flows directly from the Treasury to the insurance company, which he said may pass $25 to $30 a month to the broker of record [1].
A federal watchdog put the system to the test. The Government Accountability Office ran covert checks using 24 fictitious applicants in 2024 and 2025, and the AP reports that the federal marketplace approved subsidized coverage for almost all of them [2]. Blase put the result at 23 of 24 [1].
Some schemes have already ended in court. Blase described operations that advertised gift cards and cash rewards, then signed callers up for health plans they did not realize they were joining [1]. Citing a February Department of Justice announcement, Fox News reported that Cory Lloyd and Stephen Strong were convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy charges for preying on vulnerable consumers, and were ordered to pay $180.6 million in restitution [3]. Vance also said investigators found one ring of 40 brokerage agents who, by his account, funneled 50,000 people into the program [3].
Enforcement did not begin this year. The Biden administration suspended 850 brokers and agents suspected of fraud in 2024, though CNN reports that Trump officials later quietly reinstated several hundred of them [4].
How Were Enrollees Selected for Removal?
The announcement itself offered few details on how enrollees were chosen, according to Ellen Montz, a former CMS deputy administrator during the Biden administration [2]. Blase, however, said people within CMS described four criteria to him, and that an enrollee had to meet all four to be removed [1]. According to Blase, the application was submitted by an agent or broker without a Social Security or immigration number, the enrollee paid no premium, the enrollee had filed no medical claims this year, and the insurer had never made contact with the enrollee [1].
Blase said insurers then had 30 days to reach those enrollees using two forms of communication before coverage was canceled [1]. These criteria come from a single source and have not been confirmed by CMS, which did not respond to AP requests for comment [2].
Oz pointed to two data points to support the action. He said 1.1 million people who enrolled this year had no Social Security number on file, while normally only about 1% of exchange enrollees lack one [3][4]. He also said 35% of enrollees have never used their coverage, roughly twice the usual rate for people with insurance [3][4]. By comparison, Blase said only about 15% of people with employer-sponsored plans go a full year without using them [1].
They haven’t seen a doctor. That’s just not possible.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS Administrator [3]
The sources differ on which year the 35% figure describes. Blase tied the number to CMS data on coverage use in 2024, while Oz did not specify a year [1][3]. CNN reports that Paragon has counted nearly 12 million policyholders with no medical claims in 2024 [4].
What Happens If a Legitimate Enrollee Is Caught in the Sweep?
Several sources agree that some enrollees were signed up without their knowledge [1][4]. That group presents the hardest problem. Some people may lose a plan they never knew existed, while others who enrolled honestly could land in the removal pool if their records happen to match the criteria [1][2].
Cynthia Cox, a vice president and director of the ACA program at the health research nonprofit KFF, supports removing fraudulent enrollees but questions the method. She told the AP that the removals were carried out outside the normal regulatory process, and that the open issues are whether this was the right way to identify fraud and whether every removed enrollee was in fact fraudulent [2].
[S]omebody who was fraudulently enrolled should have their coverage canceled.
Cynthia Cox, KFF [2]
Montz said the Trump administration has done some good work targeting actual fraudsters, but she expects some consumers to ask why their enrollment was canceled [2]. Blase said there is a path back. People who are legitimately entitled to coverage can be re-enrolled by contacting a call center or the government with a valid Social Security number [1]. Enrollees on a zero-premium plan who have filed no claims and have not heard from their insurer this year fit the profile Blase described, and may want to confirm their status directly [1].
A lapse in coverage, even a short one, can be costly. One C-SPAN caller described a $28,000 hospital bill from an injury during a period when he had no insurance [1]. That kind of exposure is one reason automating an emergency savings cushion makes sense for families who could face a benefit interruption.
What Does $2.2 Billion Mean for Public Spending and Premiums?
Vance offered his own comparison for the $2.2 billion figure. He said the average American child receives about $4,000 in health care benefits each year, so the amount equals the health care of roughly 550,000 children [1][3].
Sources describe where the money comes from differently. The AP, Fox News, and CNN report it as savings from canceled subsidy payments [2][3][4]. Blase described it as a recovery, saying the federal government is recouping $2.2 billion in subsidy payments that insurers received this year for these enrollees [1]. He called insurers the biggest winners in the arrangement, because they collect full subsidies for enrollees who never use care, and he said policymakers should consider how to hold insurers accountable [1].
The spending debate sits on top of a premium increase that households are already absorbing. The enhanced subsidies expired after 2025, and the accounts of the fallout vary widely. Blase estimated that most enrollees are paying $30 to $50 more per month [1]. The AP reported that premiums doubled or tripled for many enrollees, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or leave the program [2], and CNN said premiums soared for 2026 [4].
Eligibility has tightened as well. Subsidies are now limited to people earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level, which works out to $62,600 for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four [4]. Enrollment fell from 21.8 million in February 2025 to 19.2 million in February 2026 [4]. For families facing higher premium bills, practical ways to cut back on household expenses can help absorb the increase without dropping coverage.
Where Does the Debate Over Program Integrity Go Next?
The announcement comes weeks before the November midterm elections, with health care costs among voters’ top concerns [4]. Republican officials argue the action will save taxpayer money, strengthen federal health insurance programs, and keep coverage available for those who truly need it [4]. Blase called it common sense and argued that it should not be controversial [1].
Democrats see it differently. Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said the administration is making an existing health care crisis worse and moving to take coverage away entirely [2]. Brad Woodhouse, president of the advocacy group Protect Our Care, called the task force a political stunt meant to push more people off coverage while claiming to save money [4]. CNN notes that Democrats are also pointing to Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the expiration of the enhanced subsidies, which are expected to cost millions of people their coverage in the coming years [4].
Several questions remain open. CMS has not publicly confirmed the criteria Blase described, and the verification of 419,000 more people is still ahead [1][2]. How many removed enrollees prove to be legitimate, and whether insurers will return subsidy payments for enrollees who never existed, will shape how the public judges the effort [1][2].
Final Thoughts
Program integrity and access to care are not competing goals. A subsidy program that approves nearly every fictitious applicant a federal watchdog submits will struggle to keep the trust of the taxpayers funding it or the families depending on it [2]. Requiring Social Security numbers and tightening oversight of brokers are reasonable steps toward making sure subsidies reach real people [4].
At the same time, the concerns raised by Cox and Montz about process and transparency deserve clear answers, especially for enrollees who may have been swept up by mistake [2]. For anyone with marketplace coverage, the practical steps are simple: confirm that your enrollment is active, make sure a valid Social Security number is on file, and contact the marketplace call center promptly if your coverage was canceled in error [1][4].
Works Cited
[1] “Brian Blase on Trump Administration’s Plan to Remove Allegedly Fraudulent Affordable Care Act Enrollments.” Washington Journal, hosted by Mimi Geerges, C-SPAN, 23 Sept. 2026, www.c-span.org/program/washington-journal/brian-blase-on-trump-administrations-plan-to-remove-allegedly-fraudulent-affordable-care-act-enrollments/685534.
[2] Associated Press. “Trump Administration to Remove 760,000 Affordable Care Act Enrollees over Fraud Claims.” NPR, 23 Sept. 2026, www.npr.org/2026/09/23/g-s1-144623/trump-affordable-care-act.
[3] McGreevy, Robert. “White House to Yank 750,000 Fraudsters off ObamaCare, Save Taxpayers $2.2 Billion, Vance Says.” Fox News, 22 Sept. 2026, www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-yank-750000-fraudsters-obamacare-save-taxpayers-2-2-billion-vance-says.
[4] Luhby, Tami. “White House Fraud Task Force Will Remove More than 760,000 Obamacare Enrollees, Some of Whom May Not Exist.” CNN, 22 Sept. 2026, www.cnn.com/2026/09/22/politics/vance-fraud-obamacare-enrollees.