Trump’s $500 ACA ‘refund’ checks won’t make a dent in rising healthcare costs

Last week, the Trump administration began sending $500 checks to roughly 1 million Obamacare enrollees in 30 states—a “refund” for what the administration calls “high costs imposed by the Biden Administration’s gross mismanagement of Obamacare.” In a video posted to X on September 10, President Trump said that his “administration is doing the right thing and giving the money back to the people who were wrongly ripped off,” adding that “in many cases, these refunds will cover the entire cost of your insurance caused by Democrats.” The administration’s strategy, it appears to its critics, is to sway voters ahead of the midterm elections next month, as Republicans face potentially losing their majorities in both the House and Senate. “This announcement is less about health policy and much more about the 2026 Congressional elections,” Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy and political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told CNBC about the plan. With high costs and inflation top-of-mind for many voters, the one-time payments may be a gambit to gain some ground back in the polls, similar to Trump’s separate promise to send $5,000 to Americans in the…