Trump to begin sending $500 ACA refund checks to 1 million Americans

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set on Sept. 30 to start sending $500 checks to nearly 1 million Americans his administration says were overcharged through the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange for buying health insurance.

Treasury Department checks, along with letters signed by Trump notifying recipients, will begin going out to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states, according to an administration official.

"For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov," Trump says in the letter, which was viewed by USA TODAY. "That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I'm returning it to you!"

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Trump announced the $500 Obamacare refund checks on Sept. 10 in a video posted by the White House that coincided with the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. The money is separate from a controversial $5,000 dividend Trump has vowed to distribute to all Americans if Republicans retain control of Congress after the November midterm election.

The White House has said the Biden administration collected user fees from health insurance companies that consumers paid for in the form of higher premiums ‒ and that the premiums exceeded what was needed to run the exchange. The Trump administration has accused the Biden administration of sitting on the surplus of money.

The checks, issued five weeks before the November midterm election, come as Americans' anxieties over high costs and affordability pose major political liabilities for Trump Republicans as they look to hold on to power in Congress.

"You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back," Trump says in the letter.

The expiration of the enhanced ACA subsidies at the end of 2025, which Trump and Republicans in Congress refused to extend, made insurance more expensive for millions of consumers.

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The president's approval rating has sagged as the Iran war drags on and cost-of-living concerns remain top of mind for many voters, threatening to weigh down GOP candidates. Trump has turned to the mini-convention to provide a boost as the party struggles to sell his second-term agenda.

The 30 states where some Americans will receive refund checks are states that do not operate their own ACA insurance plan exchanges and rely on federal exchanges administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, according to the White House.

The 30 states are 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.

Americans in the other 20 states won't receive checks because their states run their exchanges and the federal government did not collect user fees.

Most recipients are people who earn about 400% of the federal poverty line ‒ $64,000 for a single person or $132,000 for a family of four ‒ but it includes some people between 100-400% of the federal poverty line, the White House said.

"I am proud to return your money to you, and I will never stop fighting to put the American People FIRST, restore Affordability, protect your hard-earned money, and lower the Cost of Healthcare," Trump says in the letter. "May God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America."

Contributing: Bart Jansen and Ken Alltucker , USA TODAY