Trump Announces $90 Checks for 20 Million Medicare Enrollees a Month Before Midterms
The one-time payments come from a $2 billion fund Congress created in 2008 and never used for direct payments, and they follow a $500 rebate for about 1 million Obamacare customers.
President Donald Trump announced Friday that the federal government will send one-time payments of $90 to more than 20 million Medicare enrollees, with money arriving in October, weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
The payments are meant to offset Medicare Part B premiums and will reach roughly 20.8 million people, according to NBC News. At $90 each, that comes to about $1.9 billion, nearly all of the $2 billion Medicare Improvement Fund that Congress created in 2008. The White House said in a fact sheet that Trump "is the first President to ever use the Medicare Improvement Fund to directly lower costs for senior citizens." Trump himself called the fund a "slush fund."
Most Part B enrollees qualify. The exceptions are people whose premiums are already paid by Medicaid and people who pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount, the surcharge charged to higher earners. NBC News reported that some beneficiaries will get direct deposits in early October, followed by correspondence from Trump, while others will receive paper checks from the Treasury Department later in the month. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services confirmed the program and said the goal is to "put healthcare dollars back where they belong — in the hands of our Medicare beneficiaries."
Whether the administration can spend the fund this way has drawn questions. Larry Levitt of KFF, a health policy research group, told the Associated Press that the statute's language "is quite broad and gives substantial discretion to the administration." He described the move as an unusual use of the money, though he noted Congress has previously pulled funds out of the account for other purposes.
The announcement is the latest in a run of cash offers aimed at voters. Last week Trump said about 1 million people on Affordable Care Act plans across 30 states would get $500 rebate checks, claiming they were overcharged under the Biden administration. On the campaign trail he has also floated a $5,000 "Trump dividend" for every American adult if Republicans keep control of Congress. The Associated Press reported that proposal would cost more than $1 trillion and could worsen inflation.
The timing is not lost on opponents. Voters are anxious about prices, and the same AP report said only 17% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling inflation. Seniors vote at higher rates than any other age group, which makes them central to both parties' midterm plans.
Eligible seniors with questions can call 1-800-MEDICARE, and the Social Security Administration, at 1-800-772-1213, can answer questions about the status of a payment.
For many retirees on fixed incomes the $90 will cover only part of what Part B costs over the year. Supporters say any relief matters when grocery and gas prices are climbing. Critics say a one-time check a month before an election is a political gesture rather than a fix for health costs. Both arguments will be tested at the ballot box next month.
