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Trump Sends $500 Checks to Nearly 1 Million Obamacare Enrollees
Confirmed
In Short: The Trump administration began sending $500 checks on Wednesday to some Obamacare enrollees in Alabama and 29 other states.
President Donald Trump’s White House began sending $500 refund checks on Wednesday to nearly 1 million Americans whom the administration says were “overcharged” for Obamacare insurance by the Biden administration.
The Treasury Department checks are being mailed to more than 950,000 Americans living in at least 30 states who use healthcare.gov, a federal marketplace where people sign up for Obamacare health insurance, an administration official told The Hill.
In a letter accompanying the checks, President Trump wrote, “For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov.” He added, “You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back.”
Vice President JD Vance announced last week that $2.2 billion has been recovered in Obamacare fraud. Vance said the Biden administration relaxed eligibility for the Obamacare program but failed to verify enrollees’ eligibility, while simultaneously incentivizing brokers to enroll people in the program.
The checks are being sent only a few weeks ahead of midterm elections on Nov. 8. The $500 payments are different from the $5,000 checks President Trump pitched as a “Trump dividend” and a “reward for people” for putting up with Biden’s poor economic policies.
The federal government will issue $500 refunds to nearly 1 million Americans for alleged Obamacare overcharges, and it said the White House said checks will be sent to eligible Americans beginning in October.
The Seattle Times said premiums doubled or tripled for many enrollees after Republican-led Congress allowed the subsidies to expire this year, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or exit the program entirely.
The Trump administration began sending $500 checks on Wednesday to some Obamacare enrollees in Alabama and 29 other states. The checks are separate from another proposal President Donald Trump recently made to give every American adult a $5,000 check if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in the general election.
The 30 states where enrollees will receive the $500 checks use a federal Obamacare exchange, rather than a state-run exchange.
The Obamacare refunds apply to Americans who did not receive premium assistance, also known as the premium tax credit, which was supposed to be issued to people who purchased a healthcare plan through the ACA, have an income between 100% and 400% over the poverty line and do not qualify for other government healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
The top three states for refunds are Texas, with 139,000 estimated to receive the checks; Florida, at 127,900; and Ohio at 65,700.
What this adds
The checks are being sent only a few weeks ahead of midterm elections on Nov. 8.
The Trump administration opposed extending COVID-era subsidies that had helped offset the costs of health insurance for most enrollees during Biden’s term.
Background
The Trump White House began mailing $500 refund checks to nearly 1 million Americans Wednesday, accusing the Biden administration of overcharging them.
What's confirmed
- President Donald Trump’s White House began sending $500 refund checks on Wednesday to nearly 1 million Americans whom the administration says were “overcharged” for Obamacare insurance by the Biden administration.
- “You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back,” Trump wrote in the letter.
- President Donald Trump announced that his administration would send $500 rebate checks to nearly 1 million Affordable Care Act enrollees in 30 states, which the White House said were overcharged by the Biden administration for exchange fees.
- Trump said in a recorded address released on the White House X account Thursday, “The relief begins with refunding everyone who was overcharged, and the rebates are going out in just a few weeks,” as the checks were described as beginning next month.
- The Seattle Times said premiums doubled or tripled for many enrollees after Republican-led Congress allowed the subsidies to expire this year, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or exit the program entirely.
- President Donald Trump announced that his administration will send $500 refund checks to nearly 1 million Americans who he says were overcharged for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, commonly referred to as Obamacare.
- President Trump is refunding these excess fees to Americans who do not receive premium assistance under the Unaffordable Care Act – and therefore paid the full cost of Biden’s premium tax – in the 30 states that use the federal exchange for the operations of their Obamacare markets." "Thanks to President Trump’s actions, nearly 1 million Americans will receive a refund check of $500 per person.
What's still developing
- Vance said the Trump administration is taking multiple actions to combat Obamacare fraud, including ending enrollment for 750,000 people believed to be fraudulently enrolled.
- The New York Times said the White House planned to send the money to people in 30 states with higher incomes who are insured under the Affordable Care Act, and it described the checks as scheduled to be sent next month, just weeks before the midterm elections.
- RELATED STORY | Trump says he’ll send Americans $5,000 each ‘if Republicans win’ in November The president said the checks will be mailed to eligible people in 30 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
- Each refund comes with a letter from Trump himself, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital.