After booting 760K off ACA health plans, the Trump administration adds some people back

Some of the 760,000 people the Trump administration removed from Affordable Care Act coverage were dropped by mistake, and federal officials have started restoring a small number of them, according to KFF Health News, citing insurance industry sources. The sweep applies only to states that rely on Healthcare. gov. Officials had presented it as a crackdown on fraud and improper sign-ups that would save taxpayers billions, according to NPR.

The process began in June, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services flagged nearly 1. 2 million enrollments showing all of four warning signs. Insurers were told to contact each enrollee in at least two ways, and anyone who didn't answer within 30 days lost coverage. David Merritt of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association said some of its members have been reinstated and that an expedited review exists for people wrongly cut. A further 419,000 enrollments are under review, with insurer reports due around mid-to-late November, after the midterms.

Brian Blase of the Paragon Health Institute says the cleanup was overdue.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR →