Before the midterm elections.. Trump returns $500 to about a million Americans because of “Obamacare”

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The administration of US President Donald Trump has begun distributing $500 refund checks to more than 950,000 Americans in 30 states, in a move that comes as the midterm elections approach, and puts health care costs once again at the heart of the electoral conflict between Republicans and Democrats.

According to a report published by Fox News, the US Treasury Department has begun issuing checks to people who the Trump administration says have paid excessive fees related to the Obamacare program, with each beneficiary receiving a $500 check accompanied by a personal letter from Trump.

Trump said in the letter that the administration of former President Joe Biden "imposed excessive fees" on Americans to fund the operation of the HealthCare.gov platform, adding that the money "goes back to working Americans, not to the government."

The Trump administration says that the returned funds came from a surplus accumulated as a result of fees that were imposed on health insurance plans sold through the Federal Insurance Platform, noting that those fees were significantly reduced, while the surplus is being used to issue refunds.

The recall includes the 30 states that do not operate their own health insurance platforms under the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, and instead rely on the federal platform.

Texas comes at the top of the states in terms of the number of expected beneficiaries, with about 139,000 people, followed by Florida with about 127,900, and then Ohio with about 65,700. About 58,200 people in North Carolina and 55,100 in Michigan will also receive checks.

Payments do not include residents of 20 states, as these states rely on health insurance exchanges run by their local governments, rather than the federal platform to which the fees being reimbursed are linked.

The move comes at a time when the cost of health care has become one of the main issues in the midterm elections scheduled for November, amid competition for control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and this has an impact on Trump’s ability to implement his agenda during the remaining two years of his term.

Republicans are presenting the move as returning money to Americans, while Democrats continue to push for expanding health coverage, with some progressive candidates putting forward proposals such as “Medicare for All.”

In September, Trump announced plans to recover excess fees from Obamacare, as part of a series of promises to return money to Americans. He also pledged, if Republicans retained control of Congress, to study distributing what he called “dividend checks” worth $5,000 to every American adult.

Thus, the health care file, along with taxes, tariffs, and government spending, becomes a direct part of the upcoming electoral battle, while the Trump administration is trying to present the checks as a tangible financial measure that reaches directly into the pockets of voters.