The Trump administration said it will send $500 payments to nearly 1 million
Americans it says were overcharged buying coverage on federal Affordable Care
Act exchanges. The White House said the checks will be mailed in October, before
midterm elections, and attributed the payments to a surplus accumulated during
the Biden administration while accusing higher premiums of producing excess user
charges. The refunds are estimated by the White House to cost about $500
million. The payments could exacerbate public concerns about inflation and the
expanding budget deficit and public debt. Trump has long sought to repeal the
ACA and has proposed directly subsidizing individuals to buy insurance rather
than paying insurers.
