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She got Trump's $500 check for health insurance. To her, it's a 'political stunt'
Summary by The Los Angeles Editorial Desk Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR , as published by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio)
· October 7, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) · view original
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Summary created by The Los Angeles Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR, as published by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) Original story Read at the source Source published Oct 7, 2026 Indexed here Oct 8, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key points The payment is about a quarter of what she pays monthly for her ACA insurance after premiums skyrocketed in 2026. Further details about her situation and views are available from the source, which has been following her story since 2025 when she was 63 years old and seeking coverage.
A $500 payment from the U.S. Treasury has been received by Ellen Allen, who also got a letter from President Donald Trump. The payment is about a quarter of what she pays monthly for her ACA insurance after premiums skyrocketed in 2026.
Allen is the executive director of West Virginians for Affordable Health Care and has mixed feelings about the check. She views the distribution of these payments as a political move. Further details about her situation and views are available from the source, which has been following her story since 2025 when she was 63 years old and seeking coverage.
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LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) reported and published this story. The Los Angeles selected it, summarised the key facts above, and links to the original. We did not report this story and we added no reporting of our own to it.
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As published by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) . The Los Angeles selects stories from publishers’ feeds, summarises them, and links back to the publisher that reported them. We add no reporting of our own. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
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Category: News Published: October 7, 2026 Source: LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) Reading time: 1 min
Frequently asked about this story
What is this story about? A $500 payment from the U.S. Treasury has been received by Ellen Allen, who also got a letter from President Donald Trump. The payment is about a quarter of what she pays monthly for her ACA…
When was this published? This article was first published on October 7, 2026 by LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio) and curated for The Los Angeles readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR at LAist (KPCC / Southern California Public Radio). To learn more about how The Los Angeles selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more News coverage from The Los Angeles, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .
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