The Treasury Department began mailing $500 checks on Wednesday, September 30, to more than 950,000 Americans — each envelope carrying a letter signed by President Donald Trump. It is the "Obamacare refund" plan the White House announced on September 10: anyone who bought insurance through the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace, paid full premiums and received no subsidies gets the money. According to the letter, viewed by USA Today, Trump wrote: "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'm returning it to you!"
The administration's math goes like this: the health insurance exchanges charge insurers a "user fee" to keep running, and insurers passed that fee on as higher premiums — far more than it actually costs to run the exchanges, leaving a surplus of roughly $500 million. A White House official also told reporters the previous administration had wanted to spend the money on contraception programs. Notably, user fees have been collected across multiple administrations, including Trump's first term, nominally to pay for exchange call centers and enrollment navigators.
Four conditions, all required: bought insurance on HealthCare.gov, paid full premiums, live in one of the 30 states using the federal marketplace, and were deemed to have overpaid the exchange fees. Texas has the most recipients, followed by Florida (127,900) and Ohio (65,700). The White House says most recipients earn above 400% of the federal poverty level — about $62,600 for a single person, about $128,600 for a family of four. Families with more than one qualifying member could receive multiple checks, by mail or direct deposit. The 20 states that run their own exchanges, plus Washington, D.C., get nothing: of roughly 19 million Obamacare enrollees nationwide, only about 950,000 will see this money.
A Reuters analysis spelled out the political weight of the money. The checks go only to the 30 federal-exchange states — and 8 of the 9 most competitive Senate races and 10 of the 12 most competitive governors' races on the November 3 ballot are in exactly those states. Reuters estimates 71% of the $339 million in refunds will flow into 13 battleground states. Democrats call it checks for votes: "Voters aren't looking for Donald Trump to cut them a check," said Chris Pappas, the Democratic Senate nominee in New Hampshire. "They just want him to understand that affordability isn't a hoax and that their lives are getting more expensive." Trump himself was blunt at a White House Hispanic Heritage Month event: "I said, why don't we wait until after the election? They said, 'No, sir. Let's do it now.'"
This $500 is separate from another promise Trump has made: a $5,000 "dividend" for every American if Republicans hold Congress after the midterms. The checks are in the mail; how the political math works out will be decided on November 3.