Vance says ‘fraud’ is rife in ACA tax credits use

Vice President J.D. Vance on Sunday said there was “too much waste and fraud” in the Affordable Care Act tax credits that are at the center of Congress’ funding stalemate that has shut down the government.

“Tax credits rightfully go to some people, and we think tax credits actually lead to a lot of waste and fraud in the insurance industry,” Vance told CBS News. “Face the Nation.”

“We want to make sure the tax credits go to people who need them,” he said.

Democrats in Congress are demanding that any legislation to fund the government include an extension of Obamacare subsidies, which expire at the end of this year. Meanwhile, Republicans want to pass a temporary measure that would keep federal funding at current levels through Nov. 21.

Both bills failed to pass the Senate for a seventh time on Thursday, prolonging the federal shutdown that began Oct. 1.

While both parties do not compromise on their demands, both Republicans and Democrats say that the other party is responsible for the closure.

Of the 24 million people enrolled in Obamacare health insurance plans sold through government marketplaces, about 22 million received enhanced ACA credits that lower the cost of insurance.

Enhanced loans were introduced during the Covid pandemic in 2021. They increased the amount of financial aid to registered individuals. and also made more middle-income enrollees eligible for subsidies.

The average premium paid for an ACA plan would more than double by 2026 if the enhanced tax credits expire, the health policy research group KFF said recently.

On Sunday, Vance accused Democrats of “taking hostages” and told CBS News there was “a lot of willingness” among moderate Democrats and the White House to negotiate and compromise.

“But if the far-left Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, are going to shut down the government and refuse to open the government unless they get everything they want, that’s not a negotiation. That’s hostage-taking, and we’re not going to reward that kind of behavior by Washington, D.C.,” Vance said.

Earlier Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY) said Democrats “have made clear over and over again that we will sit at the table with anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

“This isn’t about the party. This is about the American people,” Jeffries told “Fox News Sunday.”

“If Republicans continue to refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, then tens of millions of people are about to face significantly increased premiums, co-pays, and deductibles that will result in health insurance costs doubling, tripling, or quadrupling,” Jeffries said. he said.

He also called the Republican proposal a “partisan, Republican spending bill” and said the current spending levels the Republican bill would maintain are “unacceptable.”

The effects of the shutdown have grown worse in recent days after the Trump administration began mass layoffs of federal workers on Friday.

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to use the shutdown to cut programs popular with Democrats, said Friday the layoffs would be “Democrat-focused.”

Permanent layoff notices, officially known as “Reduction in Force,” were received by employees in the Treasury, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education, Energy, EPA, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior departments.

The Trump administration on Saturday reversed layoffs of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where hundreds of scientists received “false notifications” that they were involved in mass layoffs, an official familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The official said the layoffs were due to a “glitch in the system.” CDC employees affected included those working on measles and Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and so-called disease detectives working in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a source with knowledge of the situation told NBC News.

Asked about reversing layoffs at the CDC, Vance told CBS News on Sunday that “a government shutdown inevitably leads to some chaos,” and blamed it on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and directed it at the Democrats.

“If Chuck Schumer and the far-left Senate Democrats are going to shut down the government, it’s going to cause some chaos,” Vance said.

— CNBC’s Dan Manganese contributed to this story.