House panel subpoenas 8 health insurers

House Republicans on Tuesday subpoenaed eight health insurance companies for information as part of an ongoing probe into allegations of fraud within Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.

The subpoenas, first reported by Axios, were sent by House Judiciary Committee members to some of the nation’s biggest players in the marketplace, including Blue Shield of California, Centene Corporation, CVS Health, Elevance Health, GuideWell, Health Care Service Corporation, Kaiser Permanente, and Oscar Health Inc.

Lawmakers wrote in letters to health executives on Monday that the committee was examining “Obamacare subsidies fraud and the ability of current regulatory laws to address this fraud” and claimed the companies had not fully complied with requests for documentation.

The letters give a Feb. 23 deadline to produce the documents, which Axios said include information about enrollees with subsidies who did not use any benefits in a given year, in addition to the total amount each insurer pays brokers and agents for work in the ACA marketplace.

The committee requested that information after a congressional watchdog found last December that the enhanced premium tax credits were vulnerable to fraud, with auditors successfully obtaining subsidized coverage for multiple ‘fictitious’ applicants.

“When billions of taxpayer dollars go unaccounted for, people deserve answers,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), chairman of the Oversight subcommittee, wrote Tuesday on the social platform X.

The letters noted a decision by a federal judge last August that blocked the Trump administration from enforcing sweeping changes to the ACA Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule that would have restricted enrollment by shortening the open enrollment period and enacting stricter eligibility checks.

The Trump administration has appealed that ruling.

The judge’s order and the audit prompted the committee to investigate whether reforms to the Administrative Procedures Act are necessary to “ensure that important healthcare fraud prevention measures can be swiftly implemented and are not unreasonably burdened by administrative procedural requirements,” according to the letter.

The subpoenas come amid ongoing debate over ObamaCare subsidies meant to lower the cost of monthly premiums for tens of millions of low-income and middle-income Americans.

The enhanced premium tax credits, first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic and later expanded under the Biden administration, expired at the end of 2025 over the objection of Democrats, resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs and fewer Americans enrolling in coverage.

The House passed legislation earlier this month to extend the subsidies for three years, but negotiations have stalled in the Senate.

The CEOs of five major health insurers testified in back-to-back hearings on health care unaffordability last month that rising hospital and prescription drug prices are to blame for skyrocketing premiums.