White House begins mailing $500 ObamaCare ‘refund’ checks

The White House began mailing $500 refund checks Wednesday to just about 1 million Americans who the administration says were overcharged for their ObamaCare insurance.

Treasury Department checks will begin going out to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states that use healthcare.gov, the federal marketplace where people sign up for ObamaCare health insurance, according to an administration official.

“For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov,” President Trump wrote in a letter accompanying the checks that was shared with The Hill. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I’m returning it to you!”

Direct payments to consumers are a key part of Trump’s health plan. The president has touted taking money intended for enhanced ObamaCare subsidies and paying it directly back to Americans to let them purchase their own health insurance.

There are 19.2 million people enrolled in Affordable Care Act coverage, so only a small fraction will be eligible for the rebates. People who still get premium subsidies aren’t eligible, nor are the people who live in the mostly blue states that operate their own exchanges.

Texas and Florida have the most residents who will receive money, according to a White House tally. In Florida, the administration estimates 127,900 people will receive a refund. Officials estimate there are 139,000 eligible people in Texas.

Most of the recipients of these checks will be people who earn above 400 percent of the federal poverty level — $64,000 for a single person or $132,000 for a family of four.

These higher-income earners no longer receive financial assistance to help them afford premiums after congressional Republicans, backed by the Trump administration, let ObamaCare’s enhanced subsidies expire at the end of last year.

The loss of the enhanced subsidies caused many people’s premiums to double or even triple, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or drop coverage entirely.

Some people who earn between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level and did not receive subsidies will also get refunds, the official said.

The checks come just weeks ahead of November’s midterm elections, where affordability and health costs are expected to be a central issue.

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

The ObamaCare rebates are separate from the $5,000 checks Trump promised to give to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.

The money for the rebates comes from what the White House says is a $500 million fund of excess user fees, which are paid by insurance companies to the government to help run healthcare.gov.

The fees have typically been used to cover services like technology support, call center operations and outreach efforts to enroll more Americans in health insurance plans. However, the Trump administration has slashed funding for outreach efforts.