The payments are expected to be sent in October, the White House announced Thursday, just weeks before the midterm elections.

Published on: Sep 10, 2026, 22:48:04 IST

Prefer HTon Google

Share via
Copy link

The Trump administration said it would issue $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans, citing what it described as “overcharges” for people who purchased health insurance through federal Affordable Care Act exchanges.

The payments are expected to be sent in October, the White House announced Thursday, just weeks before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress, according to a Bloomberg report.

The timing of the announcement comes as Americans broadly disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of the cost of living, an issue that has weighed on Republican candidates in key races across the country.

Deep Dive

Powered ByAsk

What are the refunds?

People in 30 states that use federal insurance exchanges will receive what the White House described as “refunds.” The states include several with competitive House and Senate races, such as Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

The announcement came a day after Trump floated $5,000 payments to every adult US citizen if Republicans retain their congressional majorities. The extraordinary proposal highlighted the president’s efforts to avoid major losses in November, which could leave him a lame duck and trigger congressional investigations into his administration and family businesses.

What White House said

The White House said in a statement that it was making the Obamacare-related payments because of what it described as a “significant surplus of funds” accumulated under the Biden administration.

It accused the Biden administration of charging people who used federal exchanges “excess” user fees “in the form of higher premiums.”

Still, sending the payments, which the White House said would cost nearly $500 million, could intensify concerns about inflation, as well as the nation’s ballooning budget deficits and public debt.

Trump has long sought to repeal President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law but has failed to do so. Short of repeal, he has floated the idea of offering direct subsidies to Americans to purchase insurance instead of paying health insurers.

See Less