Nearly 1 million Americans are about to get $500 in the mail, along with a letter signed by president Donald Trump. But the timing, the price increases many of them are already facing, and the political fight around the checks are fueling questions about who the money is really meant to help.
Starting Wednesday (30), Treasury Department checks will begin going out to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states, according to an administration official. The administration says these people were overcharged through the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange for buying health insurance.
Each check comes with a letter from Trump, viewed by USA TODAY, that puts the blame squarely on his predecessor.
"For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov," Trump says in the letter. "That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I'm returning it to you!"
The White House's case
The White House says the Biden administration collected user fees from insurers that consumers ultimately paid through higher premiums, and that those premiums brought in more than was needed to run the exchange. The Trump administration has accused the Biden administration of sitting on the surplus.
"You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back," Trump says in the letter.
For many recipients, $500 may not go far. The enhanced ACA subsidies expired at the end of 2025 after Trump and congressional Republicans refused to extend them, making coverage more expensive for millions of consumers.
That leaves an awkward contrast: a one-time refund arriving with a presidential signature, after a policy decision that has driven up what many families pay month after month.
The checks go out five weeks before the November midterm election, as anxiety over high costs and affordability poses a major political liability for Trump and Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress.
Trump first announced the refunds on Sept. 10 in a White House video that coincided with the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. The same day, he drew backlash, including from within his own MAGA base, over a separate pledge: a $5,000 dividend for all Americans if Republicans hold Congress after November. The $500 refunds are separate from that promise.
Who gets left out
Not everyone who bought ACA coverage will see a check. The refunds go only to people in the 30 states that rely at least partly on the federal exchange run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Residents of the other 20 states will get nothing, because their states run their own exchanges and the federal government did not collect user fees there.
The White House said most recipients earn about 400% of the federal poverty line, $64,000 for a single person or $132,000 for a family of four, though some earn between 100% and 400%.
Trump's letter closes on a campaign-style note.
"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," Trump says in the letter. "May God bless you, and may He continue to bless the United States of America."
For recipients, the question may be whether $500 makes up for what they're paying now.
