WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance, along with other officials from the Trump administration, announced a significant move that will impact around 760,000 individuals enrolled in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). They claim that these enrollees were either fraudulently signed up for the program or do not exist at all.
According to Vance, this new initiative is part of a broader effort to crack down on fraud within the ACA, which aims to save taxpayers about $2.2 billion. “We’re making sure that those receiving Obamacare subsidies are actually entitled to them,” Vance stated during a press conference, flanked by Dr. Mehmet Oz, who oversees the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The administration has already canceled about 315,000 enrollments, affecting 760,000 people, due to a lack of verification checks to confirm eligibility. Additionally, they will review another 419,000 enrollments to ensure that recipients are indeed qualified for benefits.
In a related decision, the Trump administration has also placed a six-month ban on new agents or brokers who help sign people up for healthcare coverage. Officials believe these agents are contributing significantly to the fraud identified in the ACA.
As of early 2026, approximately 19.2 million Americans are enrolled in ACA marketplace health plans, as reported by the Health and Human Services (HHS) website. The recent announcement marks a continuation of the Trump administration’s efforts to tackle fraud in various areas, including federal healthcare programs, which they argue is necessary to control excessive spending and protect taxpayers.
This development comes at a time when healthcare costs are rising, and inflation remains stubbornly high. The administration is under pressure to devise a plan that will make healthcare more affordable for Americans, especially as these issues are likely to be central in the upcoming midterm elections.
During Trump’s second term, the cost of ACA insurance has surged for many individuals. This increase followed the expiration of COVID-era subsidies that had previously helped lower insurance costs for most enrollees during President Biden’s term. As a result, many enrollees have seen their premiums double or even triple, forcing millions to either downgrade their plans or leave the program altogether.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has indicated that there are indeed fraud risks associated with the advance premium tax credit, although the extent of the issue remains unclear. In a recent report, the GAO revealed that the federal marketplace had approved subsidized coverage for nearly all of its 24 fictitious applicants during undercover testing.
The White House has directed further inquiries regarding broader plans to address healthcare affordability to the Vice President’s team. However, requests for comments from the Vice President’s office and CMS have gone unanswered.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on this plan to remove ACA enrollees from public exchanges. This announcement has drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who argue that the administration’s actions will worsen the healthcare crisis in the United States.
Richard E. Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat and the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, stated, “Republicans have already created the worst healthcare crisis ever, but every decision by the Trump Administration is designed to keep making it worse.” He added, “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.”
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Associated Press White House reporter Michelle Price contributed to this report.
