Ever since Obamacare was passed, millions of Americans have struggled to keep up. Now it looks like plenty have been getting a free lunch.
And shocking amounts of fraud could end Obamacare overnight.
GAO Exposes Widespread Fraud in Obamacare’s Premium Tax Credit Program
A d*mning congressional watchdog report released Wednesday revealed massive fraud vulnerabilities in the Affordable Care Act’s Advance Premium Tax Credit, with investigators successfully enrolling fictitious applicants and uncovering payments to deceased individuals and rampant double-dipping—delivering a major blow to Democrats’ push to permanently extend the pandemic-era expansion.
Undercover Tests Show Bogus Applications Routinely Approved
Government Accountability Office investigators submitted dozens of fabricated applications in 2024 and 2025, with nearly all approved despite using fake documents—or no documents at all. In one instance, fake proof of citizenship was accepted without issue; in another, income verification was waived entirely.
For plan year 2024, all four fictitious applications secured subsidized coverage. For 2025, 18 of 20 remained active as of September, collectively pulling in over $10,000 monthly in fraudulent payments. One Social Security number alone was used for more than 125 claims—equivalent to 71 years of coverage—in 2023.
The probe also flagged tens of thousands of payments to SSNs listed as deceased and others claiming more than 365 days of benefits in a single year.
“Such weaknesses in appropriately generating and resolving data matching inconsistencies may allow ineligible applicants to receive subsidized insurance coverage,” the GAO warned.
Political Fallout Intensifies After Democrats’ 43-Day Shutdown Over Subsidy Extension
The findings land amid fierce partisan battles over the future of the enhanced credit, which cost taxpayers nearly $124 billion in 2024 and is set to expire at year’s end.
Democrats triggered the longest government shutdown in U.S. history—43 days—by refusing to fund the government without permanently locking in the expanded subsidies, estimated to cost over $400 billion.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, chairman of the House Budget Committee, called the GAO report a “bombshell.”
“It was Democrats who shut the government down for a record 43 days with the demand of making this program permanent at a cost to taxpayers of over $400 billion,” Arrington said.
“Now, Democrats have the audacity to demand Republicans extend these fraud-ridden subsidies.”
“There is absolutely no justification for perpetuating these subsidies or the failed government-controlled Obamacare system Democrats are artificially propping up,” he added.
The report echoes a 2016 GAO investigation that first exposed similar flaws, confirming long-standing concerns about lax verification in the advance payment system that sends monthly subsidies directly to insurers.
