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President Donald Trump is sending $500 checks to nearly a million Americans this week, along with a letter promoting his record on healthcare.
The US Treasury is releasing the checks to over 950,000 Americans across 30 states who were enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans, an administration official said. The letter from the president was set to be mailed out to recipients on Thursday.
"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!" Trump begins the letter.
Trump previously announced plans to send out the Affordable Care Act refund checks in early September, saying the Biden administration had overcharged enrollees and "accumulated a significant surplus of funds that were not used to benefit the Americans who paid these higher premiums."
The payments are coming about a month before Americans head to the polls for the midterm elections. They're also part of a trend of Trump promising cash payments in his second term. The president said this month he would send every American adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if Republicans maintained control of the House and Senate in November.
Some families will receive more than one $500 ACA refund check if they have multiple family members impacted, the administration official said. The 30 states where ACA enrollees are receiving checks use the federal health insurance exchange, while the states that are not included run their own exchanges.
Read the full letter below:
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!With this Historic Action, my Administration is taking the surplus funds that accumulated from the Obamacare "Premium Tax" and issuing a one-time $500 REFUND to Americans who use the HealthCare.gov platform to purchase their health insurance, but who do not receive Taxpayer Subsidies to help pay for their Coverage. You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back.Healthcare Dollars should benefit Patients, not Insurance Companies or Government Bureaucrats. Since returning to office, I have fought to lower Healthcare Costs, increase Accountability, and Put Patients First. Through TrumpRx, we are delivering massive discounts on Household Prescription Drugs, and my Most-Favored-Nation Pricing Agreements have already saved Americans more than 1 Billion Dollars on much-needed Medications. We also secured an unprecedented 50 Billion Dollar investment to transform Rural Healthcare, expanded access to Health Saving Accounts for millions of people on Obamacare, and restored Price Transparency, all while rooting out the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse across our Healthcare System.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.May God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America!Sincerely,DONALD J. TRUMPPRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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Kelsey Vlamis is a senior reporter for Business Insider, where she covers business and tech news. She also writes business stories about travel, luxury, and culture. Previously, she covered the environment, outdoors, and indigenous issues.Her feature story "Disaster at 18,200 feet" received awards from the New York Press Club and the North American Travel Journalists Association, as well as honorable mention from the Society of American Travel Writers. She has also received an American Journalism Online Award for her coverage on missing and murdered Indigenous people in Wyoming.She's appeared on CBS, NPR, NBC, and other outlets to discuss her reporting. She previously worked on the world news desk at the BBC in London and received a master's in journalism from Northwestern University.She can be reached by email at [email protected] or via the encrypted-messaging app Signal at kelseyv.21.
