There is something rotten in Foggy Bottom.
Just a mere month before the midterms and Donny is going to be sending out ACA refund checks in the amount of $500….
The Trump administration said it will start sending refund checks on Wednesday to Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollees across the U.S. who it says were “overcharged” by the Biden administration.
Nearly 1 million Americans across 30 states will receive the $500 checks, along with a letter from President Trump.
“For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov,” Mr. Trump says in the letter, a copy of which was shared with CBS News. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!”
Some families with more than one “affected person” could receive multiple payments via check or direct deposit, an administration official told CBS News. The primary recipients of the checks will be people who earn above 400% of the federal poverty line, the official added.
The states where people are getting refunds rely on federal exchanges administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which charges a user fee. The White House said earlier this month that it is issuing the refunds because the Biden administration overcharged Americans through those fees and then passed it on to consumers in the form of higher premium costs — what it referred to as a “gross mismanagement of Obamacare.”
“With this Historic Action, my Administration is taking the surplus funds that accumulated from the ObamacarePremium Taxand issuing a one-time $500 REFUND to Americans who use the HealthCare.gov platform to purchase their health insurance, but who do not receive Taxpayer Subsidies to pay for their Coverage,” the president said in his letter.
Millions of Americans with ACA plans are facing higher premiums after Congress last year allowed coverage subsidies to expire. In a KFF poll released in March, half of the respondents said their premiums, deductibles or other costs are “a lot higher” than they were last year.
(cbsnews.com)
This smells like an off-handed bribe to me.
I think it is suspicious that the timing of these ‘refunds’ are just days before the election….times are tough for most Americans and extra cash would possibly swing the vote.
Anyone see it differently?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Given the price of American healthcare, is $500 (£379) of any real practical use? I can’t see it buying any healthcare worth having. And how is Trump going to pay this huge bill?
Best wishes, Pete.
Good point, Pete. The average cost of health care plan on the ACA marketplace for a family of 4 is about $1,500 – $2,000 per month if what Google just told me is correct, or $18,000 – $24,000 per year. $500 would be one week’s coverage. $500 is an insult.
As for where the money is coming from, no one seems to know.
Of course it’s a bribe. he’s desperately trying to distract people from the fact that bizarre economic policies have been abysmal failures.
IT’S NO MORE OF A BRIBE THAN THE OFFER OF THE $5,000 check he made to every adult American if the right wing wins the election.