Meanwhile, can you hear the sound of crickets eminating from the Dems regarding the massive revelations of fraud in which $100s of millions have been skimmed from the federal government. Perhaps if the huge burden of this program would be managable if the fraud had been rooted out early. But maybe the point is NOT to root out the fraud, because as we've been seeing in many of these revelations of late, somehow Democrat politicians benefit from the fraud.
Here's what Grok has to say about the facts regarding the fraud:
These findings come mainly from DOJ prosecutions, GAO audits, congressional reports, and analyses by groups like Paragon (often cited in Republican critiques).Recent revelations center on large-scale ACA (Obamacare) Marketplace fraud schemes, primarily involving rogue insurance brokers and agents who enrolled real but often ineligible people, or used stolen/fictitious identities, to collect commissions while triggering federal premium tax credit (subsidy) payments to insurers.paragoninstitute.orgKey elements include:
Brokers exploiting enhanced direct enrollment (EDE) on
HealthCare.gov, which allowed sign-ups or plan switches using minimal info (name, DOB, address/state) without strong consumer verification or consent. This led to unauthorized enrollments/switches for zero-premium subsidized plans, with brokers earning ongoing monthly commissions (paid by insurers, ultimately funded by taxpayers).commonwealthfund.org
DOJ actions in 2025: Indictments and guilty pleas in Florida and elsewhere for schemes defrauding the government of hundreds of millions (e.g., one ring alleged at least $161.9M–$233M in improper subsidies; another $133.9M ). Tactics included falsifying incomes/eligibility, targeting vulnerable groups (homeless, mentally ill), and using fake or stolen
SSNs.paragoninstitute.org 1GAO undercover testing (reported Dec. 2025) exposed systemic vulnerabilities: Investigators created fictitious applicants; nearly all fake applications (all 4 in late 2024; 18 of 20 in 2025) were approved for subsidized coverage, with ongoing APTC payments to insurers (e.g., over $10K/month for fakes). Broader issues included dead people's SSNs receiving subsidies, one SSN linked to 125 plans, and ~160K likely unauthorized broker-driven plan changes in
2024.gao.gov 1Scale and impacts: Estimates of billions in improper payments/fraud (e.g., Paragon Health Institute cited ~6.4M improper enrollees costing $27B in one year). Consumers faced surprise tax bills, lost doctors, or unwanted coverage; complaints surged to ~275K in early 2024. Insurers received subsidies regardless.americansforprosperity.orgCMS responded with broker suspensions, EDE safeguards (e.g., three-way verification calls), and rules, which reduced some unauthorized changes. The issue ties to enhanced subsidies (extended from COVID era) creating strong incentives for volume over verification, with calls from lawmakers for recouping improper insurer payments and tighter
oversight.commonwealthfund.o…