WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced his administration would refund $500 million that he said people allegedly were overcharged through the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange for buying health insurance.
Trump said in a video statement posted by the White House that $500 checks would be mailed in October to 1 million people in 30 states that used Healthcare.gov, the federal marketplace where people sign up for Obamacare health insurance.
"Our Administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off,” Trump said.
The health-insurance refund is different from the $5,000 dividends to all American adults that Trump pledged Sept. 9 at the Republican National Convention. Critics including
Democratic lawmakers have called the proposed dividends "blatantly illegal"and unlikely to pass Congress.
For the health insurance refunds, the White House said the Biden Administration collected user fees from health insurance companies that consumers paid for in the form of higher premiums. Trump argued the premiums exceeded what was needed to run the exchange.
Trump said the excess fees would be refunded to Americans who didn't receive premium assistance under the Affordable Care Act in the 30 states that use the federal exchange. The expiration of the enhanced ACA subsidies at the end of 2025 made insurance more expensive for millions of consumers.
The 30 states are: 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.
Under the ACA, health insurance companies are required to rebate consumers when insurers don't spent at least 80% of premium dollars on health care. KFF, a health policy nonprofit, estimates ACA insurers will refund more than $500 million to consumers and more than $200 million to consumers under the rebate.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump announces $500M in rebates from alleged overcharges under Obamacare
