USA03 October, 20263 min read
Trump Announces $90 Medicare Payments For More Than 20 Million Seniors
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One-time $90 payment to over 20 million Medicare beneficiaries to offset Part B premiums. Payments funded from the Medicare Improvement Fund, roughly $2 billion.
$90 checks for seniors
President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. government will send a one-time $90 payment to more than 20 million Americans enrolled in Medicare to help offset the cost of their monthly medical insurance premiums. Trump said on social media late on Friday that the payments would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which he said was given $2 billion by Congress to improve the Medicare fee-for-service program. The White House said most eligible seniors would receive the payment in the form of a direct deposit of $90 in early October, while those without direct deposit would receive a check sent in early October to the mailing address they have registered with Medicare.
The announcement came as Trump’s approval rating has been low over his handling of the high cost of living for Americans during the US-Israeli war on Iran that has spiked oil and gas prices. Trump’s Republican Party currently has a narrow majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Funding and legal questions
The Washington Post said Trump’s move would draw from about $2 billion set aside to improve Medicare’s hospital and medical insurance programs, which administration officials said has not been used for that purpose since the initiative’s inception in 2008. The Washington Post quoted Trump saying, "Under our leadership, we’re finally going to use the Medicare Improvement Fund to do what it was designed and intended to do: Help America’s seniors," in a video released by the White House on Saturday. The Washington Post said the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medicare Improvement Fund, did not respond to questions about the administration’s legal authority to issue the payments.
Reuters said the announcement came as Trump’s approval rating has been low over his handling of the high cost of living for Americans during the US-Israeli war on Iran that has spiked oil and gas prices. The Washington Post said Democrats have called the moves a stunt and questioned the legality of dipping into government accounts to send payments to Americans.
Broader campaign payments
Trump’s $90 Medicare payments arrived alongside other promised checks, including his plan to send $500 Affordable Care Act refund checks to nearly 1 million people in 30 states.
The Washington Post said Trump’s announcement follows his other pledges to send money to Americans ahead of November’s midterm elections, including his plan to send $500 Affordable Care Act refund checks to nearly 1 million people in 30 states.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services affirmed Trump’s plans on Saturday, writing in a fact sheet that 20.8 million Americans are eligible for the $90 premium rebates.
Some beneficiaries will receive a direct deposit for a $90 rebate in early October followed by an email or a letter from Trump, while other beneficiaries will receive a $90 paper check from the Treasury Department later this month.
The $90 premium rebates are expected to be received before the Nov. 3 midterm elections and are separate from the refund checks Trump said he was sending to One Million Americans who were overcharged for their Unaffordable Care Act plans by Joe Biden.