Vance, Oz probe cuts off subsidies to thousands of Obamacare enrollees

About 760,000 enrollees will be kicked off the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges as part of a review by federal health officials and Vice President J.D. Vance's anti-fraud task force.

Vance and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on Sept. 22 announced subsidy payments will be canceled for these ACA signups they claim were fraudulent, improper or, in some cases, done with phantom enrollees.

Oz said the ACA signup purge involved individuals that often never filed a claim for a doctor's visit, filled a prescription or responded to queries from government fraud investigators. Oz said officials are investigating another 400,000-plus ACA signups they suspect might be fraudulent.

Vance estimated that removing the ACA enrollees would save the federal government about $2.2 billion.

In addition to canceling subsidy payments, Oz announced a six-month moratorium on new brokers who sell ACA plans. The moratorium won't apply to existing brokers who help consumers sign up for ACA plans, also known as Obamacare.

"There will be no new brokers for Obamacare in this country for the next six months," Oz said. "Most of the fraud, a disproportionate amount of fraud, is taking place from these individuals."

CMS officials said the fraudulent signups often are arranged…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/