This operation follows a separate purge of 189,000 duplicate enrollments led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the clearing of a 550,000-account backlog that saved nearly $4.4B. Government officials, including CMS Administrator Dr. Oz, state that 2.8M people were concurrently enrolled in multiple programs, resulting in $6B in improper taxpayer payments over two years. The administration says these actions reclaim funds from insurance companies and brokers rather than from patients.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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CMS Purges 760,000 Phantom Obamacare Enrollments to Stop Fraud
US Politics5 days ago
Vice President JD Vance reported that fewer than 1 in 10,000 of recently canceled health accounts belonged to real individuals, countering claims that the government stripped coverage from citizens. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services terminated 760,000 "phantom" marketplace enrollments that had no Social Security numbers, zero premiums, and no history of insurance claims. Insurers were required to attempt contact with these members through multiple channels before the accounts were removed.
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