President Donald Trump is sending nearly 1 million Americans $500 Affordable Care Act refund checks—and the payments are arriving with a letter from the president highlighting his record on healthcare, and criticizing former President Joe Biden's administration. The Trump administration began sending the one-time payments on September 30 to more than 950,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees across 30 states, according to administration officials. The payments are being funded through accumulated fees associated with the federal ACA marketplace, HealthCare.gov.
The checks come just weeks before the November midterm elections and are accompanied by a letter in which Trump credits his administration with returning the money and outlines several of his healthcare initiatives. Trump's letter tells recipients that money collected to operate HealthCare.gov had been improperly charged during the Biden administration and says his administration is now returning that money. It says the administration is using surplus funds to provide a one-time $500 refund to people who purchased ACA coverage through HealthCare.gov but did not receive taxpayer-funded premium subsidies.
However, critics have accused the Trump administration of using the check to try to "buy" votes in the upcoming elections. Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment. Since returning to office I have fought hard to lower healthcare costs, increase accountability and put patients first.
Through TrumpRx, we are delivering massive discounts on Household Prescription Drugs and my Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Agreements have already saved Americans more than 1 Billion Dollars on much-needed Medications. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" The payments are going to eligible people who purchased ACA coverage through the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace and did not receive federal premium subsidies. More than 950,000 people in 30 states are expected to receive the payments.
States that operate their own ACA exchanges, including California, New York and Pennsylvania, are not part of the program. Most recipients are people who paid the full cost of their ACA coverage because they did not qualify for federal premium assistance. The White House has said many recipients earn around 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
The Trump administration says the money comes from unused ACA user fees that accumulated from insurers participating in the federal marketplace. Those fees are paid by insurers to help fund the operation of the federal exchange. They support expenses including HealthCare.gov, enrollment assistance, marketing and call-center operations.
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