The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Wednesday the withdrawal of Obamacare subsidies from 189,000 individuals identified during 2026 with duplicate coverage in Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or recorded as deceased in federal databases. This measure pertains to the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace.
The measure, confirmed in an official CMS statement, is part of the controls implemented by the Donald Trump administration over government payments to health insurance providers contracted through the Federal Marketplace of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
According to the agency, the audits conducted in 2026 will help prevent improper payments of approximately 1.5 billion dollars over the next year, a figure that represents an official projection rather than a verified savings.
The decision is relevant for beneficiaries of Obamacare, including Cubans residing in the United States, although CMS has not specified how many individuals of Cuban descent are among those affected.
Who can lose their Obamacare subsidy?
The review mainly encompasses two situations:
- Individuals with dual coverage: beneficiaries who receive subsidies to purchase private insurance in the Federal Market and who are also registered with Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
- Persons registered as deceased: entries that continue to receive subsidies despite federal databases indicating that the beneficiary has died.
However, the removal of the subsidy does not necessarily mean the cancellation of health insurance.
In cases of duplicate coverage, CMS removes the advance tax credit that reduces the monthly cost of the policy, but does not automatically cancel the private plan. The beneficiary could maintain it if they assume full responsibility for the premium payment.
The situation is different when records indicate that a person has passed away. If the information is not corrected within the established timeframe, CMS cancels both the subsidy and the insurance plan.
What to do if you receive a notice: you have 30 days to respond
CMS explained that individuals identified with possible duplicities are notified and have 30 days to dispute the information.
If they do not respond within the deadline, the agency will proceed to withdraw their subsidy.
However, even after those 30 days, those affected can appeal the decision or demonstrate that their Medicaid or CHIP coverage is about to expire in order to request the recovery of assistance.
In cases of death registrations, the agency also grants 30 days to contest the information before canceling the coverage.
Therefore, those who receive a notification must carefully review the details of their registration, check if they have any public coverage still active, and respond within the indicated timeframe.
You can also check the status of your plan and your subsidies through the official website HealthCare.gov.
Second round of checks on Obamacare
According to CMS, the Trump administration resumed periodic duplicate coverage checks in Medicaid and CHIP in 2025, which had been suspended during Joe Biden's administration.
In that initial phase, CMS removed Obamacare subsidies from approximately 551,000 individuals who also had Medicaid coverage.
The review aligns with other anticipated changes to Obamacare in 2027, when new immigration restrictions will come into effect for accessing subsidies. Among those who will still be able to apply for these aids, provided they meet other requirements, are legal permanent residents and certain immigrants classified as "Cuban-Haitian entrants," a status not automatically granted by holding Cuban nationality.
The CMS administrator, Mehmet Oz, assured that the various control measures adopted by the government have generated savings close to 6 billion dollars.
According to the official, the goal is to restore taxpayers' trust in the efficient use of resources allocated to public health programs.
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