Nearly 1 million Americans who bought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace are receiving $500 refund payments, with payments now beginning to reach eligible consumers in 30 states.
The one-time refunds are going primarily to people who purchased coverage through HealthCare.gov and paid the full cost of their insurance without receiving federal premium assistance. The Trump administration says surplus money accumulated from user fees charged to insurers participating in the federal ACA marketplace, costs that can be incorporated into insurance premiums.
Eligible recipients do not need to apply for the refund. Payments are being issued automatically to people identified through federal enrollment records. The refund is $500 per eligible person, meaning households with more than one qualifying family member could receive multiple payments.
Only consumers in states that use the federally operated ACA exchange are included. The 30 states include Texas, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona and others. States that operate their own ACA marketplaces are not part of the refund program.
The administration has described the payments as refunds for consumers it says were previously overcharged through the exchange’s user-fee system. The $500 payments are separate from the regular rebates some health insurers must provide under Affordable Care Act rules and are instead a one-time return of surplus federal exchange funds.
