Depending on what appears on the 8962, the IRS may adjust your tax due or refund.
The is because the 8962 is the reconciliation of the Premium Tax Credit that you presumably took advantage of when you bought insurance through the Marketplace.
At the beginning of the tax year, you estimated for the Marketplace what your income would be. From this they estimated how much Premium Tax Credit you would be eligible for (this is money paid from the government directly to your insurance carrier to help pay your premiums).
At the end of the year, you finally know how much income you actually had. Generally, if you ended up with more income than you initially estimated, you would have to repay some or all of the Premium Tax Credit that the government paid out for you. On the other hand, if you made less than what you estimated, then you might get an additional credit on your tax return.
The problem is that the IRS doesn't know if you final refund will be the same or more or less than what you initially filed, until they see the 8962. That is why your refund is held up until they get the forms.
@Coolbeans 144
So far as I know, the reference to a "check" was metaphoric and that you will receive the refund in the way you indicated on your tax return.
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