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Politics

Reuters analysis: 71% of Trump's $500 ACA rebate money flows to 13 battleground states

A Reuters analysis of US government data finds 71% of the Trump administration's $500 Obamacare rebate payments — about $339 million — will go to 13 politically competitive states weeks before the November 3 midterms.

By Priya Raman · · 1 min read

Nearly three-quarters of the money in President Donald Trump’s $500 Obamacare rebate programme is flowing to 13 politically competitive states weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, a Reuters analysis of US government data found.

The administration is sending the one-time payments this week to about 950,000 Americans who bought health insurance at full price through the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace, out of nearly 19 million people who rely on Obamacare coverage. Only residents of the 30 states using the federal marketplace qualify; the 20 states running their own exchanges are excluded.

The qualifying states cover eight of the nine US Senate races nonpartisan analysts rate the most competitive, and 10 of the 12 most competitive governors’ races, Reuters reported. Some 71% of the payments — $339 million in total — will go to people living in those 13 states, according to the analysis.

Strategists said the timing could potentially influence races that will decide whether Republicans keep control of Congress, Reuters reported. The White House describes the payments as a refund of what it calls excessive fees charged to ACA buyers. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!” Trump wrote in a letter sent to recipients on Thursday.

Democratic candidates called the payments a clear attempt to sway the election. “Voters aren’t looking for Donald Trump to cut them a check,” said Chris Pappas, the Democratic Senate nominee in New Hampshire. “They just want him to understand that affordability isn’t a hoax and that their lives are getting more expensive.”

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