Donald Trump's administration is sending $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans this week, in a move that strategists say could potentially influence races that may ​determine whether his Republicans maintain control of Congress in the November midterm elections.

The White House says the payments are a refund for what it describes as excessive fees charged to people ‌who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

The payments will not go out nationwide. Certain residents who live in the 30 states that rely on the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace to provide coverage will receive a check. Those who live in the 20 states that operate their own programs will not. While 19 million people rely on Obamacare, only 950,000 ​of them will get payments, according to the White House.

Democratic candidates and analysts call the payments a clear attempt to sway the election, ​but also say it is not enough to cover the increased costs voters have shouldered since Trump returned to office.

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[–] 26 points 1 day ago (8 children)

You have to be a real piece of trash for $500 to meaningfully sway your opinion.

No one's life problems are going to be solved with half a G

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  • [–] 30 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Every idiot who never pays attention to politics will absolutely be swayed by this dumb shit. It happened last time when he made them put his name on the checks.

    I pointed out that at least one of those checks literally was sent by Biden and the ones Trump sent he was forced to send.

    Their answer?: "nah"

    You have to lower your expectations for these morons

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  • [–] 22 points 1 day ago*

    My son worked with a guy whose immigrant parents loved Trump, and when they got their Covid check signed by Trump, they literally believed he paid it out of his own fortune because he's such good, caring person.

    I hope they got the deportation they wanted.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 day ago

    My understanding is these 'rebates' go only to people who receive no ACA tax credit. Thanks to Trump's own ACA "reform," that's people making >4x ponverty level - about $64k for singles or $132k for a family of 4. Last year, those people had their insurance premiums capped at 8.5% of income.

    So, a single, with typical silver premium of $12k/year, lost a $6500 tax credit to get this $500 rebate.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    There are people for whom $500 is life changing and will keep them from losing their home.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 day ago

    Life problems? No. Immediate problems? Yeah. That's half rent for me, or groceries for a month, or a car payment and insurance, all my major bills, etc. For a lot of people, that's the most pressing thing in their life.

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