President Barack Obama shared new insights about his health care law on Thursday, educating Americans about what rebates they should expect as the law takes effect, ABC News reported.
News reports said that an estimated 8.5 million Americans will be expected to receive rebates from their health insurers this summer due to the Affordable Care Act that says that companies which fail to spend at least 80 percent of premiums on health care must refund the difference to consumers.
"Last year, millions of Americans opened letters from their insurance companies. But instead of the usual dread that comes from getting a bill, they were pleasantly surprised with a check," the president said. "Another 8.5 [million] rebates are being sent out this summer, averaging around a hundred bucks each."
News reports say that about 2.7 million American will receive physical check, or direct refunds to their credit or debit cards. These are the people who purchased a health policy on their own, ABC News also reported. The remaining 5.7 million, who receive health insurance through an employer will not necessarily receive any direct financial reimbursement, the Center for Insurance and Consumer Oversight cited however.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees and enforces the health care policy, says that redistributing rebates to group policyholders, like employers is compromised by the need for taxation if the money is returned to individual consumers, ABC News also reported.
