WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday began sending $500 checks to nearly 1 million Americans it says were overcharged for health insurance bought through the Affordable Care Act's federal marketplace, a payout arriving just five weeks before the November midterm elections.

Treasury Department checks, accompanied by letters signed by Trump, will start going out to more than 950,000 people across 30 states, according to an administration official.

"For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov," Trump wrote in the letter, which was viewed by USA TODAY. "That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I'm returning it to you!"

What the refunds are for

The payments stem from user fees charged on the federal exchange. According to the White House, the Biden administration collected those fees from health insurance companies, which passed the costs on to consumers through higher premiums. The administration argues the fees brought in more money than was needed to run the exchange and accused the previous administration of sitting on the surplus.

The refunds will be paid from what the White House describes as a $500 million pool of excess user fees, which insurers pay to the government to help operate HealthCare.gov.

A White House fact sheet said the government will return hundreds of millions of dollars in what it called Obamacare overcharges by issuing refunds of $500 per person. The administration has branded the program the "Working Families Obamacare Refunds."

Refunds are going to enrollees in states that rely on the federal exchange and who did not receive premium assistance under the ACA, meaning they paid the........

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