Trump promises $500 payments to Obamacare participants in the US — TIME
US President Donald Trump said that nearly one million participants in Affordable Care Act health insurance programs, known as Obamacare, may receive $500 checks. The payments, he said, will begin being sent in October to residents of 30 states that use the federal Healthcare.gov platform to enroll in insurance, reports TIME.
The White House claims that under the Joe Biden administration, ACA participants were allegedly overcharged for insurance coverage because user fees for operating the federal exchange were included in insurance premiums. According to the Trump administration, the funds collected far exceeded the platform's needs. At the same time, Trump and the White House provided no evidence for these claims.
Who may receive a payment
According to the White House, checks are to be sent to Obamacare participants in states using the federal exchange if they did not receive assistance with paying ACA premiums and paid the full cost of insurance coverage. Trump said the checks would be sent to the home addresses of people whom his administration considers to have overpaid. The methodology for determining the $500 amount and details of selecting recipients were not explained.
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Potential recipients account for approximately 5% of an estimated 19.2 million people who currently have ACA plans in the United States. The payments will apply to residents of 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.
Rising insurance costs
The announcement came after tax credits that reduced costs for most ACA participants expired at the end of 2025. The Republican-controlled Congress did not extend these subsidies, and the Trump administration supported the decision. According to TIME, after the benefits expired, the number of ACA program participants in 2026 fell by more than 5 million from a peak of more than 24 million people last year, while insurance premiums doubled or tripled for many people.
It is currently unclear whether implementing the promised payments will require separate approval from Congress.
