$500 healthcare insurance refunds going out this week, Trump says: Who is eligible?

More than 950,000 people across 30 states will begin receiving $500 checks from the Treasury Department as early as this week, according to federal officials.

The checks will be mailed Sept. 30 along with a letter from Trump notifying recipients, USA Today reported.

“For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov,” Trump says in the letter, according to USA Today. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I’m returning it to you!”

Trump announced the refunds earlier in September. The payments come from “user fees” charged to consumers through higher premiums on Healthcare.gov, the website for the program commonly known as “Obamacare.” A White House fact sheet said the fees were “far in excess of what was needed to run the exchange” and that users ultimately absorbed the extra costs through higher premiums.

People who use Healthcare.gov pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services a monthly user fee based on a percentage of their premiums. The federal marketplace fee is 2.5% for 2026 and will drop to 1.9% in 2027. Consumers do not see the fee as a separate charge because it is included in their premiums.

Who qualifies for an ACA healthcare refund?

Customers can qualify for a refund if they did not receive government assistance to cover their healthcare costs. They must also live in a state that relies on the federal marketplace instead of operating its own state-run exchange.

Nearly 1 million residents across the following states qualify for refunds: