ABC News (US)
· collected 2026-09-22 · by FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press
Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials announced plans to remove 760,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees from public healthcare exchanges due to alleged fraud or non-existent identities. The move is expected to save $2.2 billion and involves suspending new agents or brokers who sign up enrollees for six months. Approximately half a million enrollments will undergo additional verification to ensure eligibility. This initiative aims to address fraudulent activities within federal healthcare programs, reflecting the administration’s broader efforts to control spending and protect taxpayers amid rising healthcare costs.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-23,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Trump administration to remove 760,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees over fraud claims
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administration → remove → claims
Vice President JD Vance and White House officials are announcing plans to remove 760,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees from public healthcare exchanges
WASHINGTON --
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Vance → announce → exchanges
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials said Tuesday they plan to remove 760,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees from public healthcare exchanges, alleging that the individuals were fraudulently enrolled in the program, or simply do not exist.
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individuals → say → program
Vance said the discovery and canceled subsidy payments for hundreds of thousands of people from the exchanges, part of an administration-wide crackdown on fraud, would result in $2.2 billion in cost savings.
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discovery → say → savings
“We’re actually making sure that the people receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to receive them,” said Vance, who leads a government task force to eliminate fraud.
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who → make → fraud
He was flanked by Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, and other administration officials.
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He → flank → Medicare
Vance said the cancellation of approximately 315,000 enrollments covering 760,000 people was done in part because the government was not checking whether people enrolled were eligible.
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people → say → part
Vance said another 419,000 enrollments will get additional verification to make sure they are eligible for the benefit.
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are → say → benefit
The Trump administration also announced a six-month suspension on new agents or brokers who sign up enrollees for healthcare coverage, who officials say commit a disproportionate amount of the fraud they uncovered.
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they → announce → fraud
Roughly 19.2 million Americans are actively enrolled in ACA marketplace health plans as of early 2026, according to the HHS website.
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Americans → enrol → website
Tuesday's announcement is the latest in an initiative by the Trump administration to address fraud around the country, including in federal healthcare programs, which officials say is needed to rein in runaway spending and protect taxpayers.
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officials → address → taxpayers
The announcement comes as stubbornly high inflation and rising healthcare costs pressure the Trump administration to come up with a plan to bring down costs for Americans as affordability remains a central issue in the fall midterm elections.
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affordability → come → elections
The price of ACA insurance has skyrocketed for many Americans during Trump’s second term, after Republicans opposed extending COVID-era subsidies that had helped offset the costs of health insurance for most enrollees during Biden’s term.
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that → skyrocket → term
Premiums doubled or tripled for many enrollees, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or exit the program entirely after the Republican-led Congress allowed the subsidies to expire this year.
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subsidies → double → program
The Government Accountability Office suggests fraud risks in the advance premium tax credit do exist - however it's unclear at what scale.
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it → suggest → credit
The GAO conducted covert testing using fictitious ACA applicants enrolled in 2024 and 2025.
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GAO → conduct → 2024
A report released in December showed that the federal marketplace approved subsidized coverage for almost all of the GAO’s 24 fake enrollees.
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marketplace → release → enrollees
The White House referred The Associated Press to the Vice President’s team for additional comment on bigger plans to address healthcare affordability.
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House → refer → affordability
The Vice President's office and CMS did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment.
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office → respond → comment
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of the Trump administration’s plan to remove ACA enrollees from public exchanges.
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Journal → report → exchanges
Democratic lawmakers criticized the move to remove enrollees from ACA coverage.
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lawmakers → criticize → coverage
Richard E. Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, said “Republicans have already created the worst healthcare crisis ever, but every decision by the Trump Administration is designed to keep making it worse."
“As if making coverage harder to access through skyrocketing premiums and more red tape wasn’t painful enough, they’re doubling down to take it away entirely,” Neal said.
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Neal → say → it
Associated Press White House reporter Michelle Price contributed to this report.
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Price → contribute → report