US cuts ACA subsidies for 189,000 with duplicate coverage
The Trump administration is cutting off Affordable Care Act subsidies for about 189,000 people. Officials said they also had Medicare, Medicaid or other government coverage, or had died. People who are flagged get 30 days to dispute it, and officials say the step will save $738 million this year.
The Trump administration said Wednesday it is cutting off Affordable Care Act subsidies for about 189,000 people it found had duplicate government coverage or had died, Reuters and Fierce Healthcare reported.
Officials estimate the move will save taxpayers about $738 million this year, Reuters said. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that figure tops $1.5 billion on a yearly basis.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found people with subsidized plans on the federal marketplace, known as Obamacare, who were also enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, both outlets reported.
"We certainly can't keep paying for people who are deceased," Kennedy said at a press conference, Reuters reported.
Through July, the agency canceled duplicate subsidies for about 120,000 people who also had Medicaid, 58,000 who also had Medicare and about 11,000 enrollees who had died, CMS official Peter Nelson said, according to Reuters.
People who are flagged are contacted and get 30 days to dispute the finding, both outlets said. If they don't, their subsidies end, though they can appeal, Fierce Healthcare reported.
"No one is losing insurance coverage based on what's happening today," CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said, according to Fierce Healthcare. Nelson said no one lost coverage in an earlier round because everyone affected already had other coverage or had died, Reuters reported.
Oz said duplicates often happen when people move to a new state and sign up for an ACA plan there, while their old state still lists them for Medicaid, Fierce Healthcare said. He also blamed "shady insurance companies and unscrupulous brokers."
The move comes as ACA enrollment has fallen by nearly 3 million this year, to about 19.2 million, Insurance Business reported, citing KFF Health News. Brookings Institution fellow Matthew Fiedler told KFF Health News the idea that improper enrollees explain the whole drop since 2025 "is not remotely credible."
What we know: Subsidies are ending for about 189,000 flagged enrollees.
What we don't: How many will successfully dispute the findings.
Where outlets agree Reuters and Fierce Healthcare both report that CMS is ending subsidies for 189,000 enrollees with duplicate coverage and that flagged people get 30 days to dispute.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.