She got Trump's $500 check for health insurance. To her, it's a 'political stunt'

Ellen Allen holds the letter from President Trump that explains the $500 payment she got. It's about a quarter of what she had to pay monthly in 2026 after her ACA insurance premiums skyrocketed. NPR has redacted her address in the letter to protect her privacy. Sue Julian hide caption

Ellen Allen has mixed feelings about the check from the U.S. Treasury and letter from President Trump that arrived at her house near Charleston, W.Va., on Monday.

"I just can't believe it; I mean, that's crazy," says Allen, who's the executive director of a small nonprofit called West Virginians for Affordable Health Care . She says, in her opinion, sending out these checks is a "political stunt."

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NPR first spoke to Ellen Allen in the summer of 2025 . She was 63 years old at the time and knew she needed coverage from Healthcare.gov even as generous federal subsidies for her premiums were ending. She has a serious eye condition and needs expensive drops to preserve her vision. She advocated for the Republican-controlled Congress to extend the subsidies. It didn't. She ended up using retirement savings to pay $1,967 every month for her premiums from January through August, 2026.

Then her birthday came; she turned 65 and was eligible for Medicare. "I was ready at midnight — the first day I could apply, I did," she laughs.

Allen chose traditional Medicare, which means she could soon be getting another check from the U.S. Treasury. Last week, President Trump announced that $90 checks will be sent to 20 million people enrolled in Medicare.

"The $90 is — I mean, that's just nothing," Allen says. In her work, she talks to people about healthcare costs all over West Virginia. "People aren't going to be fooled by this," she predicts. "People are hurting. People are feeling the cost of healthcare all year long."