The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services removed Obamacare subsidies from 189,000 enrollees in 2026 who also held Medicare, Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance Program coverage, or who were listed as deceased, the agency said. CMS projected the action would save approximately $1.5 billion over the next year.
The identification came through routine data checks comparing Obamacare enrollment with other federal health programs. When CMS identified someone with overlapping coverage, the agency contacted them and provided 30 days to challenge the finding. If they did not respond within that period, CMS terminated their Obamacare subsidies. The same process applied to individuals listed as deceased.
The 2026 action followed the Trump Administration's 2025 restoration of duplicate enrollment enforcement. In 2025, the administration ended Obamacare subsidies for approximately 551,000 enrollees already receiving Medicaid coverage. The duplicate-checking process had been paused during the Biden Administration for four years, according to CMS.
Federal regulations require health insurance exchanges to check periodically for people enrolled in both Medicaid and subsidized marketplace plans to prevent improper dual enrollment. These checks were strengthened under the first Trump Administration to occur at least twice a year, but were paused during the Biden Administration.