Trump Is Sending $500 Checks To 1 Million Americans - Here's Who Qualifies
President Donald Trump's administration announced on September 10 that it would send $500 checks to nearly 1 million people around the U.S., with payments initially scheduled to begin in October 2026, according to the White House. As for who those Americans are, the Trump administration described the checks as refunds for people who paid higher costs through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) federal marketplace. However, the checks are primarily going to ACA enrollees who bought coverage through the federal marketplace without receiving premium assistance.
The administration likewise noted that the payouts would only be sent to eligible people in 30 states: 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. That's because these states use the federal exchange for their ACA marketplaces, while others use state-based marketplaces.
There is no application or form to fill out to receive a check, though an administration official told ABC News on October 1 that the primary recipients are people earning above 400% of the federal poverty level. Nevertheless, the number of eligible enrollees could already be limited. A June 26, 2026 report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Trump administration efforts had stopped about 1.5 million enrollees from receiving subsidies they allegedly didn't qualify for and ended or blocked coverage for another 1.4 million. HHS characterized those cases as improper, fraudulent, or "phantom" enrollments. Then, on September 22, the Wall Street Journal reported a task force led by Vice President JD Vance would remove another 750,000 enrollees over alleged fraud.
The checks aren't likely to go very far among ACA enrollees
In a September 10, 2026 video posted on X, Trump claimed that Americans with ACA coverage were overcharged under former President Joe Biden "by at least $500 million dollars." He also said that the $500 checks are refund money that would, in many cases, "cover the entire spike in your insurance costs," which the president blamed on Democrats. Despite all this — and the fact that the average American incurs around $15,000 in healthcare costs each year – a major factor behind the ACA cost increases was subsidies for the program being allowed to lapse in January 2026. These subsidies were in place since 2021, and their renewal was the source of heated congressional debate throughout 2025.
Although less than 1 million Americans are supposedly receiving a payout from the Trump administration (and, again, only those who haven't gotten premium assistance), around 20 million Americans saw higher health insurance premiums as a result of the lapsed subsidies. Findings from non-profit health policy research group KFF show that average premium payments by ACA Marketplace enrollees increased 58% in 2026, from $113 to $178 per month, or from $1,356 to $2,136 per year. Average deductibles also increased 37%, rising from $2,759 in 2025 to a record $3,786 in 2026.
President Trump has promised checks to Americans many times in his second term
The $500 ACA payments are part of a growing trend of Trump announcing or proposing direct payments to Americans during his second term. Following up the announcement of $500 ACA coverage checks, the White House announced on October 2, 2026 that $90 checks would be sent out to eligible Medicare Part B enrollees.
In previous cases, however, Trump's check announcements have wound up being empty promises. In February 2025, for instance, Trump floated the idea of distributing 20% of alleged Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) savings to Americans. These payouts never materialized, and a government watchdog report found DOGE's reported savings inaccurate. Later, in September 2025, the president said Americans would receive $2,000 dividend checks with money from his administration's tariffs. As reported by multiple news outlets, a year passed and those checks never arrived.
It's also worth noting that the announcement of the $500 checks for some ACA enrollees came on the heels of Trump promising to send out $5,000 checks to Americans if Republicans win the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections. In the meantime, ACA enrollees who qualify for one of the $500 payments may already have received notice. According to Business Insider, letters signed by Trump began going out to recipients on October 1, while the Treasury Department had already started distributing the $500 payments on September 30.