'Outnumbered' dissects Republican-led efforts to combat rampant government fraud in Medicaid. Food Stamps as billions in wasted taxpayer money spark urgent calls for accountability.
EXCLUSIVE:As part of ananti-fraud crackdown that spansthe entirety of the federal government, the Trump administration's Department of Health. Human Services (HHS) uncovered millions of alleged fraudsters on the Affordable Care Act rolls, according to a report obtained by Fox News Digital.
A Biden-era spike in Obamacare enrollments led to a probe into the veracity of millions of claims. a Trump administration official confirmed. At the beginning of Biden's term, there were 10 million people enrolled in the government's healthcare program,. that number drastically skyrocketed to 22 million at its 2024 peak.
Now. the Trump administration has removed nearly three million of the fraudulent enrollees, with a planned 2.6 million left to go.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for Dr. Mehmet Oz as Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator in the Oval Office on Jan. 22, 2025.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The administration official said the program's massive abuse equates to about $10 billion swindled from the American taxpayer between 2021. 2024.
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The Biden administrationrelaxed eligibility checksand income verification requirements while also allowing more year-round enrollment in the program. according to the report. Furthermore, the report claims that fraudsters intentionally misstated their income levels in order to qualify. that insurance brokers signed people up for Obamacare without their knowledge, which are called "phantom enrollments." Some people also received subsidies they were not eligible for.
Discussions about rising healthcare costs. mainly related to Obamacare, have divided Republicans as they consider reforming or replacing the system.(Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"By our estimate, improper, phantom, andfraudulent enrollment peaked at5.6 million people in 2025," the report says. "We estimate 2.6 million improper and phantom enrollments remain, including over 1 million enrollments without a social security number."
The Trump administration has since restored income verification, ended some special enrollment opportunities, checked forduplicate Medicaid enrollment, investigated so-called "phantom" enrollments by scamming brokers. ended some special enrollment periods.
Right now, about 19.2 million people remain on theObamacare rolls.
President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act. lowering health care costs for families during an event in the East Room of the White House.(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Preserving the fiscal. programmatic integrity of the ACA Exchanges is key to safeguarding taxpayer-funded resources for those that truly need them," the report says. "The federal government paying brokers to enroll individuals without their knowledge is not."
"The Trump Administration continues to aggressivelyroot out fraud, waste, abuse,. corruption by promulgating new regulations to improve program integrity, investigating suspected improper or fraudulent enrollment, and taking action against agents and brokers committing fraud."
READ THE FULL REPORT BELOW. MOBILE USERSCLICK HERE:
Peter D'Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.
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