Donald Trump announced a surprise Obamacare refund plan with the 2026 midterms approaching. Nearly 1 million Americans could receive $500 checks beginning in October.
The White House said the payments would return excess fees that allegedly inflated insurance premiums. The announcement also landed one day after Trump proposed $5,000 dividends for American adults.
Trump says nearly 1 million ACA enrollees will receive $500 refund checks
Trump announced the refund plan in a video statement posted by the White House. “Our Administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off,” he said. The Associated Press reported that Trump blamed the Biden administration for excessive Obamacare exchange fees.
The White House claimed insurers passed those costs to consumers through higher premiums. Trump said the refunds would target people who received no ACA premium assistance. They live in 30 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace.
Those states included Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii and Indiana. The list also covered Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana and Nebraska. New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and Oregon also qualified. South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming rounded out the list.
The administration said eligible Americans would receive $500 each. The White House expected checks to begin arriving in October 2026. The plan is part of Trump’s broader healthcare push. His administration highlighted stricter marketplace eligibility checks and efforts targeting enrollment fraud.
Trump also signed measures involving healthcare pricing and prescription drug costs. The White House said his administration had reached 26 pharmaceutical deals by Aug. 31. Those agreements reportedly covered nearly 90% of the branded drug market. Trump also urged Congress to pass his Great Healthcare Plan.
Meanwhile, KFF estimated insurers would return about $759 million in ACA-required rebates across commercial insurance markets in 2026. Under federal rules, insurers must spend at least 80% of premiums on healthcare and quality improvement, depending on the insurance market. The administration’s refund differs from Trump’s proposed $5,000 dividend. He unveiled that proposal at the Republican midterm convention on Sept. 9.
The proposal also faced questions about whether Congress would approve it. Trump’s ACA announcement came after enhanced subsidies expired at the end of 2025. That expiration made coverage more expensive for millions of Americans.
