After gutting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and leaving working families drowning in skyrocketing premiums, Donald Trump has finally begun mailing out his phony $500 rebate checks in a shameless attempt to buy back voters’ support ahead of the midterms. Trump’s $500 checks are a drop in the bucket compared to the more than $1 trillion in health care cuts he signed into law last year. Average premiums have jumped $780 this year, a staggering 58% increase from 2025, while more than 3 million Americans have been forced off their ACA Marketplace coverage. These checks are a pathetic act of desperation as Republicans are underwater on the issue, and now, every check serves as a glaring reminder of the GOP’s failure on health care.
For West Virginia resident Ellen Allen, Trump’s $500 redate check was nothing more than a “political stunt.” Earlier this year, Allen watched her ACA premiums skyrocket to nearly $2,000 a month. For her, Trump’s shameless $500 bribery won’t come close to making up for the thousands she was charged for coverage.
NPR: She Got Trump’s $500 Check for Health Insurance. To Her, It’s a ‘Political Stunt’
- “In her work, she talks to people about healthcare costs all over West Virginia. ‘People aren’t going to be fooled by this,’ she predicts. ‘People are hurting. People are feeling the cost of healthcare all year long. If they wanted to do something meaningful, they would work on affordable healthcare instead of just sending out checks every now and then.’”
- “‘It looks like a pretty desperate effort to, in essence, bribe the recipients of this letter to vote in gratitude to Trump in the upcoming midterm elections,’ [Kathleen Clark, professor of legal and governmental ethics at Washington University law school] adds.”
- “[Joseph Antos, senior fellow emeritus at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute] is doubtful the move will have a political benefit for Republican candidates. ‘For one thing, Trump is not saying that your local congressman did this for you, Trump is saying he did it for you,’ Antos says. ‘I don’t get it, and I don’t see any advantage to anybody, including Donald Trump.’”
Reuters: Trump’s $500 Obamacare ‘Rebate’ Checks Land in Prime Political Battlegrounds
- “Democratic candidates and analysts call the payments a clear attempt to sway the election, but also say it is not enough to cover the increased costs voters have shouldered since Trump returned to office. ‘Voters aren’t looking for Donald Trump to cut them a check,’ said Chris Pappas, New Hampshire’s Democratic Senate nominee. ‘They just want him to understand that affordability isn’t a hoax and that their lives are getting more expensive.’”
CBS News: Trump Is Sending ACA and Medicare Checks. Are They Enough to Cover Rising Healthcare Costs?
- Meanwhile, the $500 ACA check isn’t likely to cover rising costs for people who get their health insurance through the program’s marketplaces, said Cynthia Cox, senior vice president and director of the ACA program at KFF. “People this year are paying significantly more than they were paying last year for health insurance on the individual market,” Cox told CBS News. “It’s going to help some people, certainly — getting a $500 check is better than not getting a $500 check — but for most people it won’t cover their full increased costs.”
The Bulwark: Donald Trump Is Buying Votes at $500 a Pop
- The official rationale for the $500 checks is that they are a “refund” going to people “overcharged” by the Biden administration for HealthCare.gov coverage. A letter accompanying the checks and sent with Trump’s signature says so, before listing off what Trump claims are his many accomplishments on health care, like the agreements he reached with major pharmaceutical companies. The letter states, “I am proud to return your money to you, and I will never stop fighting to put the American People FIRST, restore Affordability, protect your hard-earned money, and lower the Cost of Healthcare.”
Fast Company: Trump’s $500 ACA ‘Refund’ Checks Won’t Make a Dent in Rising Healthcare Costs
- “Brad Woodhouse, a Democratic activist and executive director of Protect Our Care, an advocacy group, called the plan ‘an absolute joke’ in a statement. ‘At a time when people are scraping by to keep up with the high cost of groceries, rent, and healthcare, this $500 gimmick won’t even begin to dig them out of the hole that Trump and Republicans created,’ Woodhouse said.”
- “Ultimately, [Matt McGough, policy analyst at KFF] says, the $500 refund ‘doesn’t even cover, on average, a month’s premium.’”
MS Now: Opinion: Trump’s $500 Refund Checks Are an Even Cheaper Trick Than You Think
- “As I wrote previously, these checks are ‘waving the idea of free cash for Americans like a parent might dangle a toy in front of an unhappy infant, hoping that for just a brief moment they will be transfixed, with no memory of the past or ability to imagine the future.’ While Trump claims in his letter that he’s ‘fighting to put the American people FIRST,’ he isn’t the hero here, he is the villain. He has increased healthcare costs, boosted profits of health insurance corporations and has never once promoted an effective idea for expanding coverage for Americans. His $500 checks aren’t a salve, they’re a cynical ploy to bait Americans who don’t understand Trump’s real healthcare policy regime into voting for the GOP.”
Cleveland.com: Most People Say Donald Trump Is Trying to Buy Votes With Those $500 Checks: Today in Ohio