Trump to Refund $500 Each to 1 Million People Ahead of Midterm Elections

Checks to Be Sent Out Starting in October

U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that approximately one million residents across 30 states who enrolled in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, during the Biden administration were overcharged on their insurance premiums, and that each will be refunded $500 (about 670,000 won). As President Trump continues to introduce cash-based support measures in the run-up to the November midterm elections, controversy is expected to intensify over accusations of populist policies.

On the 10th (local time), President Trump made this statement in a video address, about two minutes long, released on the official White House X (formerly Twitter) account. He said, "Our administration has uncovered that American families who enrolled in health insurance through the Obamacare exchange—a disaster under 'Sleepy Joe Biden'—were excessively overcharged on premiums."

He claimed that the total overcharged amount is at least $500 million (about 67.31 billion won), saying, "The previous administration not only knew about this but even investigated it, and yet they kept the money and informed no one." He went on to stress, "Our administration is doing the right thing by returning these unfairly taken funds to those affected."

President Trump stated that the refunds "will be issued in just a few weeks." The White House explained in a separate information release that starting in October, checks will be mailed to those eligible for the refunds.

The timing of the payments is right before the November midterm elections. As President Trump continues to roll out policies providing direct economic benefits to voters ahead of the election, criticism from opposition parties is mounting over what they see as vote-buying tactics.

The previous day, at a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, President Trump also promised that, if the Republican Party wins and maintains the majority in both the House and Senate, every American adult will be given a $5,000 (about 6.73 million won) dividend payment. The Democratic Party has strongly criticized this pledge, calling it "vote-buying."

In the United States, the end of Obamacare insurance premium subsidies at the end of last year significantly increased the financial burden on policyholders. As a result, a considerable number of Americans have either canceled their insurance or decided against renewing it, which has widened gaps in health insurance coverage.

The Trump administration is pursuing a policy to amend the operational rules for the Obamacare exchanges, allowing for a broader entry of plans that offer lower premiums, even if those plans provide relatively limited coverage.

Additionally, President Trump is proposing the 'Great Healthcare Plan' as an alternative to Obamacare, aiming to replace the existing system of government subsidies to insurers with a policy that enhances price transparency and competition in the medical market to lower costs.

He asserted that the refunds issued will "offset all premium increases caused by Democrats, who focus solely on protecting giant insurance companies," claiming that large insurance carriers are under Democratic control.

He further stated, "Congress must now swiftly pass the Great Healthcare Plan. We will stop payments to large insurance companies and distribute that money directly to the people." He argued that "the public will be able to purchase better healthcare services at a much lower cost and keep the remaining funds."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.