NEW: Shocking Levels Of Fraud Discovered Within Obamacare Program
The Trump administration says it has uncovered massive fraud inside Obamacare, removing nearly 3 million alleged bogus enrollees from the program as officials move to restore eligibility checks that were weakened under former President Joe Biden.
The Department of Health and Human Services found millions of questionable enrollments on Affordable Care Act rolls after a Biden-era surge sent participation soaring, Fox News Digital reported.
Obamacare enrollment stood at about 10 million people when Biden entered office, then jumped to 22 million at its 2024 peak, according to the report.
Federal officials are now investigating how much of that growth came from fraud, improper sign-ups and people who should not have been receiving taxpayer-backed subsidies.
The Trump administration has already removed nearly 3 million alleged fraudulent enrollees from the rolls.
Officials are also targeting another 2.6 million enrollments they say still need to be cleaned up.
A Trump administration official told Fox News the alleged abuse cost taxpayers about $10 billion annually between 2021 and 2024.
The findings are another political blow to Obamacare, the government health care program Democrats have defended for years despite rising costs, marketplace problems and repeated warnings about fraud.
The new crackdown comes as President Donald Trump’s team expands its broader effort to root out waste and abuse across federal programs.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz have both raised concerns about fraud in government health care programs.
Oz said in a Fox News appearance that officials found more than 1 million recipients on Obamacare rolls without Social Security numbers.
That raised questions about fake identities, foreign nationals and other improper enrollments draining taxpayer-funded subsidies.
The Trump administration says it has restored stronger verification protocols after alleged scammers took advantage of loosened rules during the Biden years.
Republicans have long argued that Democrats made the program easier to exploit by expanding subsidies and relaxing key eligibility checks.
The result, conservatives say, was predictable.
Taxpayer money flowed out the door while Washington bureaucrats looked the other way.
A separate Government Accountability Office report also found serious weaknesses in the Obamacare marketplace.
The watchdog identified at least 160,000 federal marketplace applications in plan year 2024 with likely unauthorized changes.
Those changes could leave Americans stuck with unexpected costs, higher copayments, higher deductibles and lost access to doctors, treatments or medications.
Investigators also found that bad actors serving as agents and brokers were able to enroll people in health plans or secretly switch their coverage without proper authorization.
That means some Americans may have had their health coverage manipulated without realizing it until bills arrived or care was disrupted.
The findings have fueled Republican calls to stop extending Obamacare subsidies without major anti-fraud reforms.
Democrats have pushed to keep the subsidies in place, arguing they help Americans afford coverage.
Republicans argue the program has become a subsidy pipeline for insurers, brokers and fraudsters unless Washington finally verifies who is actually eligible.
The Trump administration’s latest numbers give the GOP a new weapon in that fight.
Nearly 3 million alleged fraudulent enrollees have already been removed.
Another 2.6 million could be next.
And taxpayers are now being told the abuse may have reached $10 billion a year.
For a program Democrats sold as affordable care, the fraud bill is becoming harder to ignore.
BREAKING: Dolly Parton’s Cause Of Death Revealed: ‘Brief Battle’
Dolly Parton’s death came after a brief battle with cancer, her representatives revealed Tuesday.
The country music legend died Aug. 25 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She was 80.
Parton had been admitted to the cancer center Friday, four days before her death. Her representatives confirmed the cancer diagnosis in a statement to PEOPLE but did not disclose what type she had.
“Our beloved Dolly Parton spent her life and career bringing joy, laughter, hope and integrity into everything she touched. Her unmatched generosity reached the lives of countless people whom she would never meet, yet she was always there to offer a helping hand,” the statement read.
“Whether it be the hundreds of millions of books donated through her invaluable Imagination Library or funding research that helped create a lifesaving vaccine used around the world, Dolly’s unconditional love for all people was the guiding force for her lasting impact. After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones,” the statement concluded.
The “Jolene” singer had also been dealing with kidney and autoimmune issues before her death, PEOPLE previously reported.
Just days earlier, Dolly Parton opened up about her declining health and acknowledged that she had put off addressing some medical issues while caring for her husband, Carl.
“As I’ve shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [my husband] Carl. You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve had to manage something like this. Back in the early ’80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton told PEOPLE.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death in an Instagram video Tuesday on behalf of the Parton and Owens family.
“My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next,” he says in the video.
Seaver, who served as Parton’s head of security for more than two decades, said she had asked him years earlier to deliver the announcement.
“This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality,” he continued. “As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but haven’t truly felt it until now.”
Seaver said the moment brought immense pride and heartbreak, but he took comfort in his faith that Parton had been reunited with Carl and other loved ones.
Seaver added: “It is an honor, an honor that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness. But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless othe
