Trump Administration Sending $500 ACA Refund Payments 

We’re one month out from the midterms, and it’s clear that the Trump administration is desperate. In the Trump administration’s latest attempt to bribe voters, it has begun sending $500 refund checks to people who receive insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

CBS News reports that the Trump administration has begun sending the refund checks along with a letter from President Donald Trump explaining why they’re being issued. “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 am returning it to you!” 

The checks are expected to go out to nearly 1 million people across 30 states who earn over 400% of the federal poverty line. So the checks aren’t even going to the people who need it the most. We love it. 

“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 pay for their Coverage,” the president added. 

You know, that would hold more water if the Trump administration hadn’t spent all of last year making ACA-provided insurance more expensive. The federal government went through one of its longest shutdowns in history due to Republicans being unwilling to extend pandemic-era subsidies that ensured everyone who needed ACA insurance could afford it. 

The shutdown ended, and Senate Democrats got out of it, because Republicans agreed to vote on extending the subsidies. Unsurprisingly, Republicans voted against expanding the subsidies and haven’t introduced any meaningful legislation to address the price hikes. 

The only movement the Trump administration has made to address the issue was a proposed plan from Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to essentially offer junk insurance through the ACA marketplace. The plans would be cheaper than bronze-tier plans, but would’ve had higher out-of-pocket costs and in many cases wouldn’t be tied to a medical network. 

Given how useless that plan sounds, it’s not surprising it hasn’t moved forward. 

Despite their efforts to sway the midterms in their favor through redistricting efforts, Republicans are staring down the barrel of a particularly brutal midterm cycle. This is to be expected when the party that ran on lowering prices passes legislation and starts unnecessary wars that raise the price of health insurance, home loans, gas, groceries, and other essential goods. 

Since they can’t run on legislative accomplishments, Trump has taken to outright trying to bribe the American public. During a recent campaign stop, Trump promised to distribute $5,000 checks to the American public if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate. Republicans in Congress quickly pushed back on that, so now I guess Trump is trying to implement a similar plan under the guise of “ACA refunds.” 

As someone who went from paying $40 a month for a silver plan to nearly $200 for a bronze plan, I’ll tell you right now that $500 ain’t doing jack. 

If the Trump administration were serious about providing relief for people who get insurance through the ACA, it would push Congress to pass legislation restoring ACA subsidies. I guess tax breaks are fine for billionaires, but subsidies designed to lower costs for working-class Americans are just a bridge too far. 

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