Federal officials said Wednesday they ended Obamacare subsidies for 189,000 enrollees flagged for duplicate government coverage or listed as deceased, potentially saving taxpayers about $1.5 billion over the next year.
The Department of Health and Human Services said the cases involved people enrolled through the federal marketplace in 2026. Records showed they also had Medicare, Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage, or had died.
The $1.5 billion represents potential savings over the coming year. The enrollment figures and savings claims come from HHS and have not been independently verified.
“Taxpayers should not foot the bill for duplicate coverage or subsidies for people who have died,”
The announcement follows a similar action in 2025. According to HHS, the Trump administration resumed enforcement that year and stopped marketplace subsidies for about 551,000 people who already had Medicaid coverage.
“We’ve already saved nearly $6 billion,” CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said. According to him, the Biden administration allowed duplicates to build up, having suspended the Medicaid and marketplace overlap checks for four years.
HHS said federal regulations require exchanges to compare enrollment records periodically to identify people receiving Medicaid or CHIP benefits while enrolled in subsidized marketplace plans. The department said the first Trump administration strengthened those checks and required them at least twice annually.
Those Medicaid and CHIP checks were paused throughout the Biden administration, according to the release. HHS said CMS historically also reviewed records for overlapping Medicare coverage and marketplace policies held in the names of deceased people.
Under the process described by HHS, CMS notifies people when records indicate they receive marketplace subsidies while also covered by Medicaid or Medicare. They have 30 days to challenge the finding before CMS stops their marketplace subsidies.
For records indicating a death, CMS contacts the enrollee or the person’s estate and allows 30 days to dispute the information. Without a successful challenge, CMS ends both the subsidy and the marketplace policy.
People can still appeal a duplicate-coverage determination after the 30-day period. HHS said they may also regain marketplace subsidies by showing that their Medicaid or CHIP coverage is about to expire.
