Sanders, Wyden press insurers on Trump ACA coverage terminations

Senate Democrats, led by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), are pressing 10 major insurance companies about their decisions to work with the Trump administration to terminate coverage for thousands of ObamaCare enrollees due to alleged fraud.

The letters, sent Monday to the CEOs of the 10 biggest Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurers including Cigna and UnitedHealthcare, question the roles of the companies in the Trump administration’s plan to remove close to 760,000 ACA enrollees as part of its fraud crackdown.

The letters were signed by 11 other Senate Democrats.

“Aligning with Republicans and their so-called ‘war on fraud,’ insurance companies chose to participate in a collaborative effort with the Trump administration to inject yet more chaos and damage into the ACA Marketplace,” the senators wrote.

The pressure on insurance companies for working with the administration is likely a preview of what could happen next year if Democrats flip control of the Senate.

Wyden would become chairman of the Senate Finance Committee while Sanders would chair the Health Committee, both of which have oversight over aspects of the healthcare industry.

“We have many questions about the role of [insurers] in this flawed process used to terminate coverage for 760,000 enrollees, and the judgment exercised by insurance companies that chose to cooperate with CMS officials without requesting clarification about the specific authorities being relied on to support this request or raising concerns to Congress on behalf of their customers,” Wyden and Sanders wrote.

The senators said the administration’s move was based on “discredited, partisan analyses suggesting zero-dollar premium plans and zero-claims enrollees are reliable proxies for fraud.”

According to the senators, the insurance companies sent unsolicited communications, including in some cases asking enrollees to verify their Social Security numbers. Individuals who did not respond were deemed fraudulent and their coverage was terminated.

The senators asked why insurers “almost universally” declined to reach out to enrollees and notify them of significant premium increases ahead of 2026 open enrollment, despite repeated Democratic requests.

“Insurance companies repeatedly cited the complexity and cost associated with initiating new types of mid-year contact with enrollees and delays in finalizing premiums as an explanation for why they were unable to comply with this request,” the senators wrote.

In contrast, enrollee communications were initiated within weeks, if not days, in response to the request from Republicans, they noted.