Chairman Arrington Applauds CMS’ Efforts to Rein in Duplicate Enrollment in Medicaid and Obamacare
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) today released the following statement after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed 2.8 million Americans were improperly enrolled in two or more Medicaid or Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchange plans, wasting approximately $14 billion annually in duplicate payments. CMS announced actionto partner with states to rein in this duplicative, wasteful spending by confirming that individuals are not enrolled in multiple Medicaid or ACA Exchange plans while alsoensuring they retainthe coverage they need.
“Analysis from CMS released this week found that, under President Biden’s failed leadership, the federal government was erroneously paying double for 2.8 million American’s health care—costing taxpayers upwards of $14 billion a year.
“Thanks to President Trump, Secretary Kennedy, and the new leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services, CMS is taking meaningful steps to clean up the mess left behind by the Biden Administration’s ‘enroll first, ask questions later’ approach.
“Our health care safety nets should serve the most vulnerable Americans—not be an open tab for fraud and abuse. This is exactly why Republicans fought for stronger financial safeguards in the One Big Beautiful Bill. We’re restoring accountability, strengthening Medicaid for the most vulnerable, ensuring only those truly eligible receive Medicaid and ACA coverage, and protecting Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars.
“I’m encouraged to see CMS moving fast to fix this problem—but make no mistake: this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to waste, fraud, and abuse in our government. House Republicans will keep pressing until every dollar wasted becomes a dollar saved.”
BACKGROUND
CMS estimates that up to 2.8 million Americans were simultaneously enrolled in either multiple state Medicaid programs or both Medicaid and subsidized ACA Exchange plans during 2024, costing taxpayers an estimated $14 billion annuallydue to duplicative coverage.Under the Biden Administration, CMS prioritized the number of enrollments over program integrity, leading to rampant waste.
Due to the enactment ofthe One Big Beautiful Bill, CMS now has the toolsto safeguard taxpayer dollars that will help it execute more regular eligibility checks, prevent duplicative enrollments across states and programs, and recover improper payments.
