06.23.26

Debunking Democrats’ Health Care Fearmongering

Over the Last Year, to Preserve a Failed and Costly Status Quo, Democrats Have Falsely Claimed That Republicans’ Efforts to Reduce Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in Health Care Would Lead to a “Crisis”

FOR A YEAR, DEMOCRATS FALSELY CLAIMED REPUBLICANS’ WORK REDUCING WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE IN HEALTH CARE WOULD LEAD TO A HEALTH CARE “CRISIS,” AND EVEN SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT UNDER THIS FALSE PRETENSE

  • Last fall, during Democrats’ full government shutdown, the longest in history, Democrats fought to repeal every health care reform in the Working Families Tax Cut law, including provisions that ensure noncitizens do not receive federal Medicaid benefits. (Punchbowl News: AM: Dems, GOP dig in as shutdown nears – 9/18/25; U.S. Congress: H.R.1 – accessed 6/23/26)
  • During their shutdown, Democrats repeatedly cited a “health care cliff” as a reason to shut the government down and halt the bipartisan appropriations process:

CONTRARY TO DEMOCRATS’ FEARMONGERING, OBAMACARE ENROLLMENT HAS NEARLY DOUBLED COMPARED TO FIVE YEARS AGO

  • “The dire forecasts that millions of Americans would lose health coverage after pandemic ObamaCare subsidies expired this year haven’t panned out.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: An ObamaCare Fraud Update – 6/2/26)
  • “The consensus in the healthcare establishment was that people would drop coverage after the pandemic subsidies ended. Yet the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported this spring that 23.1 million consumers had signed up during this year’s open-enrollment period. That’s only 1.2 million fewer than last year and nearly twice as many as in 2021.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: An ObamaCare Fraud Update – 6/2/26)
  • “One reason is that subsidies for most enrollees remain very generous. The government this year will pay 94% of the premium for the median enrollee—about $699 of a $741 monthly premium—according to Paragon. Nearly 30% of enrollees won’t have to pay premiums thanks to subsidies.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: An ObamaCare Fraud Update – 6/2/26)
  • The cost of Obamacare has been skyrocketing for years: Premiums for the average Obamacare enrollee have increased 221% between 2013 and 2026. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Individual Market Premium Changes: 2013 – 2017 – 5/23/17; Paragon Health Institute: Almost Entire Obamacare Premium Increases Paid for By Taxpayers – accessed 6/23/26)

INSTEAD, THE NEWEST DATA SHOWS WHY REPUBLICANS’ REFORMS WERE SO BADLY NEEDED

  • “The big news instead is that even the millions who were fraudulently enrolled haven’t lost coverage, according to a new study by the Paragon Health Institute.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: An ObamaCare Fraud Update – 6/2/26)
  • “We estimate that approximately 6.2 million exchange sign-ups in 2026 were improper, representing roughly 27 percent of all ACA exchange sign-ups, the same percentage level as after 2025 open enrollment.” (Paragon Health Institute: The Persistent Obamacare Enrollment Fraud – accessed 6/23/26)
  • “Many of these folks are improperly enrolled, meaning they are receiving bigger subsidies than they would be eligible for based on their actual incomes.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: An ObamaCare Fraud Update – 6/2/26)
  • “We project taxpayers will fund up to $25 billion in improper subsidy payments in 2026—nearly one-quarter of projected ACA subsidy spending in 2026.” (Paragon Health Institute: The Persistent Obamacare Enrollment Fraud – accessed 6/23/26)
  • “The GAO [Government Accountability Office] last fall began an undercover test in which it submitted insurance applications for fictitious individuals to the federal ObamaCare exchange and insurance brokers. Nearly all of its invented people were able to enroll in subsidized plans despite submitting false or no records to verify their identities and incomes. Of GAO’s 24 applications, 23 were approved.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/7/25)
  • And earlier today, the Justice Department unveiled “charges against around 450 defendants for alleged healthcare fraud totaling over $6.5 billion as part of the Trump administration’s stepped-up antifraud efforts.” (The Wall Street Journal: Justice Department Unveils $6.5 Billion Healthcare Fraud Crackdown – 6/23/26)
  • “But wait—didn’t last summer’s tax bill include measures to prevent fraud? Yes, but most income and other eligibility verification rules don’t kick in until 2028.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: An ObamaCare Fraud Update – 6/2/26)
  • “Fortunately, the Trump administration has already removed nearly two million improper enrollees through actions targeting duplicate Medicaid-exchange enrollment and individuals who failed to comply with tax-filing requirements. Additional integrity reforms enacted administratively and legislatively should further reduce improper enrollment over the next two years.”
    (Paragon Health Institute: The Persistent Obamacare Enrollment Fraud – accessed 6/23/26)
  • The Working Families Tax Cuts law enacted several key reforms cracking down on fraud in Obamacare:
    • The law requires “the exchange to verify Social Security numbers and income data before enrolling applicants in plans.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/9/25)
    • “It also requires people to repay the government if their incomes turn out to be higher than what they estimated on their applications. The Congressional Budget Office projected that the tax bill’s ObamaCare fraud controls could result in about one million more people going uninsured, but most aren’t eligible for subsidies—and some might not even exist.” (The Wall Street Journal: Editorial: ObamaCare Is a Mecca for Fraud – 12/9/25)