The Treasury Department is sending one-time $500 payments to more than 950,000 Affordable Care Act enrollees across 30 states, with President Donald Trump portraying the checks as a return of surplus insurer user fees that the White House attributes to the Biden administration. The payments are limited to people who bought full-price 2026 coverage through HealthCare.gov without receiving a premium tax credit, and require no application. Recipients are receiving paper checks or direct deposits along with a letter from Trump. Experts said the program has little connection to universal basic income because it targets selected enrollees and is justified as reimbursement for alleged overpayments. They also viewed it as a political criticism of Biden administration policies and an expression of the idea that citizens should control more of their own money. The payments arrive as households face higher health insurance premiums, energy costs and borrowing costs, while enhanced pandemic-era premium tax credits have expired. Trump separately floated a $5,000 payment for every American if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate, a proposal that an expert said more closely resembles UBI but questioned why it was not being pursued while Republicans control Congress.