Trump announces $90 payments for seniors’ Medicare premium costs ahead of midterm elections
President Trump announced late Friday night on social media that more than 20 million seniors will each receive $90 to help pay Medicare premiums, timed just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The pledge follows his announcement last month that roughly 1 million people would get $500 rebate checks for Affordable Care Act premiums, and his campaign-trail promise to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate — a pledge that would require congressional approval and likely cost more than $1 trillion, adding to the deficit and worsening inflation.
Trump promoted the $5,000 promise at a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday night, telling supporters that 70,000 Ohio families would receive the ACA rebates "within the next couple of days." He also reminded voters of the $1,776 payments to military members announced in December, musing that the timing should have been better: "Maybe I should have waited a year. To be honest, I said that. Should I wait for before the election?" The push comes as polls show Americans increasingly blame Trump for high gasoline and grocery costs, with just 17% approving of his handling of inflation; Trump has sought to shrug off affordability concerns, saying the economy is booming.
The White House said the $90 payments will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, established by Congress in 2008 as flexible funding to improve program operations and payments to health care providers. Medicare Part B enrollees can expect a one-time payment in October, either by direct deposit or check. Total monthly Part B costs — which cover doctor's visits, ambulance services and lab tests — start around $200 and vary with income. To be eligible, seniors must live in the U.S. and must not already receive premium assistance from Medicaid or pay adjusted monthly premiums based on income, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, are not eligible — and more than half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries are in Medicare Advantage, according to healthcare research nonprofit KFF.
Previous administrations have not used the Medicare Improvement Fund in this way, though Congress has periodically taken money from it for other priorities, said Larry Levitt, KFF's executive vice president for health policy — including $20.74 billion used for the creation of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. "The Medicare Improvement Fund language is quite broad and gives substantial discretion to the administration," Levitt said.