The White House has started sending $500 Obamacare refund checks to nearly 1 million Americans who the administration says were overcharged for their insurance.
Treasury Department checks are being sent to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states who use healthcare.gov, where people sign up for Obamacare health insurance, an unnamed administration official told The Hill.
“For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov,” President Donald Trump wrote in a letter accompanying the checks that was shared with the news outlet. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I’m returning it to you!
“You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back.”
Trump had touted taking money intended for enhanced Obamacare subsidies and paying it directly to Americans so they can purchase their own health insurance.
While 19.2 million people are enrolled in Affordable Care Act coverage, only some will be eligible for the rebates. People who still get premium subsidies are ineligible, as are those 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 that showed an estimated 139,000 eligible people in the Lone Star State and 127,900 in the Sunshine State.
Most of the refund check recipients are people who earn above 400% of the federal poverty level, which is $64,000 for a single person or $132,000 for a family of four.
These recipients no longer receive financial assistance to help them afford premiums after congressional Republicans, with Trump’s support, let Obamacare’s enhanced subsidies expire at the end of last year.
Without the enhanced subsidies, many people’s premiums doubled or tripled, prompting millions to downgrade their plans or drop coverage entirely.
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Some people who earn 100-400% of the FPL and did not receive subsidies will also be sent refunds, the administration official said.
The White House said the money for the rebates would come from a $500 million fund of excess user fees, which are paid by insurance companies to the federal government to help run healthcare.gov.
The fees were previously 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 cut funding for outreach efforts.
The checks are being sent just weeks before the midterm elections, for which affordability and health costs are a main focus. The Obamacare refunds are separate from the $5,000 checks that Trump promised to give to every American if Republicans retain control of Congress in the November elections.