President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the federal government will issue $500 refunds to nearly 1 million Americans in 30 states who the White House says were overcharged through Obamacare exchange fees during the Biden administration.
According to a White House fact sheet, the refunds will total “hundreds of millions of dollars” and will go to Americans who did not receive premium assistance and therefore paid the full cost of the exchange-related fees through their insurance premiums.
Checks are expected to be sent beginning in October 2026.
The 30 states using the federal exchange covered by the refunds include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
President Donald J. Trump announces $500 rebate checks to nearly 1 million hardworking Americans who were wrongly overcharged through Obamacare.
"Our Administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off." pic.twitter.com/XWA1wlzRH8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 10, 2026
The White House said the Biden administration’s Obamacare exchange “user fees” were passed on to consumers through higher premiums and generated a surplus beyond what was needed to operate the federal exchange.
“As a result, the Biden Administration accumulated a significant surplus of funds that were not used to benefit the Americans who paid these higher premiums,” the White House added.
In a video statement, Trump said, “In many cases, these refunds will cover the entire spike in your insurance caused by Democrats who solely work to protect big insurance companies.”
Thursday’s announcement, according to the White House, stems from Trump’s promise to “lower costs for American patients by putting them first and taking on big health insurance companies, drug manufacturers, and other corporate giants that have used the status quo in Washington to raise healthcare costs for Americans.”
“The Trump Administration is cracking down on fraud and corruption, lowering healthcare costs for Americans, and putting the American people over big health insurance companies after the Biden Administration’s mismanagement of Obamacare resulted in massive levels of fraud, higher costs for Americans, and profit windfalls for big health insurance companies,” the White House said.
In announcing the refunds Thursday, the White House also highlighted the president’s previously announced Great Healthcare Plan, which calls on Congress to enact a broader set of healthcare reforms.
Trump’s plan, unveiled in January, would codify Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing agreements, expand access to certain over-the-counter medicines, direct certain federal healthcare subsidies to eligible Americans rather than insurance companies, and establish a cost-sharing reduction program that the White House says could save taxpayers at least $36 billion and reduce premiums for common Obamacare plans by more than 10 percent.
The proposal would also require insurers to provide plain-English comparisons of rates and coverage, disclose how much revenue goes toward claims versus overhead and profits, and publish claim denial rates and average wait times. Healthcare providers and insurers accepting Medicare or Medicaid would also be required to prominently post prices under the plan.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
