A federal watchdog just put a number on Obamacare’s unauthorized-change problem: at least 160,000 Marketplace applications in 2024.

The Government Accountability Office found those applications had likely unauthorized changes by agents or brokers. A quiet plan switch can leave a family with higher costs, a different deductible, or no access to the medication or doctor they expected.

House Republicans say the system became a target because the Biden-Harris administration stripped away safeguards while celebrating inflated enrollment totals. President Trump’s administration now has a fresh federal report showing exactly where the holes are.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee called the new findings confirmation that weak Obamacare safeguards left Americans exposed.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office found three basic holes in the federal Marketplace’s controls. CMS does not reliably verify that a consumer approved an agent’s action, does not limit access to the agent already connected to that enrollment, and does not notify people about every agent or broker action involving their coverage.

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CMS added new procedures in 2024, but GAO found those checks are not used for every transaction. The identity confirmation built into the process also remains too limited to stop every unauthorized change.

The human cost can surface at the worst possible time. Some people may learn their plan was changed only when they seek medical care, try to fill a prescription, or receive tax paperwork for coverage they did not knowingly choose.

Confirmed complaints tied to unauthorized enrollments and plan switches grew more than fourfold from 2023 through 2025. Three state-run Marketplaces examined by GAO use stronger protections, including one-time passcodes that force the consumer to approve an agent’s action.

CMS told investigators it is considering new controls for the 2027 plan year, but no final decision had been made. HHS agreed with GAO’s two recommendations to strengthen consent checks, restrict access, notify consumers, and keep testing whether the new controls actually work.

GAO also released a plain-language explainer showing how unauthorized agent activity can cost consumers money or leave them with coverage they never selected.

The House Ways and Means Committee says Chairmen Jason Smith, Brett Guthrie, and Jim Jordan requested the investigation after years of warnings about Obamacare fraud and weak program integrity.

The committee says likely unauthorized changes can force people into higher copayments and deductibles, disrupt treatment, and cut off access to medications. Those are real consequences for families who thought their insurance choice was settled.

Committee leaders also pointed back to earlier GAO testing in which fictitious applicants using fake or never-issued Social Security numbers still obtained subsidized coverage. The committee says every fake applicant in the late-2024 test was initially approved, and 90 percent remained covered in 2025.

Confirmed complaints rose from 66,548 in 2023 to more than 300,000 in 2025, according to the committee. Jason Smith said the report validates the need to close loopholes while President Trump’s administration pushes a broader crackdown on health-program fraud.

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The committee’s earlier inquiry asked whether improper Obamacare enrollments could be costing taxpayers as much as $27 billion a year. That figure is a congressional estimate under investigation, not GAO’s final loss finding.

Nobody should discover at the pharmacy counter that a stranger quietly changed the health plan they chose. GAO has now shown that the federal system still leaves that door open.

President Trump’s administration has the report, HHS has agreed to the fixes, and the next move is clear: verify consent, warn consumers immediately, and shut the fraudsters out.

 

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