The Trump administration is to begin sending $500 Affordable Care Act refund checks on Wednesday to nearly one million enrollees across 30 US states, claiming they were overcharged under the Biden administration.
Recipients will receive a payment and a letter from President Donald Trump. Some families with more than one affected person may receive multiple refunds, either by cheque or direct deposit, according to an administration official.
The main recipients are expected to be people earning more than 400% of the federal poverty line. The payments apply to people who bought health insurance through HealthCare.gov and did not receive taxpayer subsidies towards their cover.
In the letter, Mr Trump said: “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov. That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!”
The states involved use federal exchanges run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which charges insurers a user fee. The administration claims those fees were passed on to consumers through higher premiums and described the policy as a response to what it called “gross mismanagement of Obamacare”.
Mr Trump said the refunds were being funded from surplus money accumulated from Affordable Care Act premium tax payments. He described the measure as a one-off payment for eligible Americans using the HealthCare.gov platform.
The payments come as millions of people with Affordable Care Act plans face higher premiums after Congress allowed coverage subsidies to expire last year. In a poll released in March, half of respondents said their premiums, deductibles or other costs were “a lot higher” than the previous year.
The refund programme is being launched just over a month before the midterm elections, as affordability concerns weigh on households. Inflation and higher petrol prices linked to the war with Iran have also contributed to a fall in Mr Trump’s approval ratings on the economy.
