Politics 4 min read By Alice Ashford
Trump's $90 Medicare Rebate Reaches Only 20.8 Million Enrollees
The White House is sending one-time $90 payments to about 20.8 million Medicare Part B enrollees, leaving out more than two-thirds of beneficiaries. Critics call it an election-year stunt as the November midterms approach.
President Donald Trump's administration is distributing one-time $90 payments to roughly 20.8 million Medicare Part B enrollees, a move that will cost about $2 billion but reach fewer than one-third of all Medicare beneficiaries. The rebates are expected to arrive this week, with most eligible recipients receiving direct deposits on or around Friday and others getting paper cheques later in October.
The payments are limited to people enrolled in original Medicare Part B who live in the United States, do not receive premium assistance from Medicaid and do not pay an income-related monthly adjusted amount. That leaves out roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees, who account for more than half of the 64.2 million Medicare beneficiaries, according to KFF, a healthcare research nonprofit. Also excluded are about 12 million low-income older adults and people with disabilities who receive premium assistance, as well as millions of other beneficiaries with disabilities.
Part B covers doctor's visits, ambulance services and laboratory tests, with total monthly costs generally starting at about $200 and varying by income. The White House has said people can call 1-800-MEDICARE to check their eligibility for the rebate, while payment status inquiries should go to the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213. Juliette Cubanski, director of KFF's programme on Medicare policy, said the payment will be automatic. «As far as a benefit goes, people don't have to call or sign up — it's just money they receive directly, but not everybody on Medicare will receive this money,» she said.
The funds will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, created by Congress in 2008 to improve the Medicare fee-for-service programme and conduct oversight of contracts and contractors. Its purpose has expanded after various legislative changes. The fund was previously tapped by Democratic President Barack Obama's administration and Congress, which redirected $20 billion to expand healthcare coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Under Trump, however, it is the first time the fund has been used to make direct payments to recipients.
The election-year promise, made over the weekend, comes as the November 3 midterms approach and the cost of living and healthcare expenses rank among the top issues for voters. Trump recently pledged $500 rebate cheques to an estimated 1 million Obamacare enrollees across 30 states whom the White House alleged were overcharged by the Biden administration for certain fees.
Critics have characterised the $90 payments as a pre-election stunt designed to sway voters rather than address structural problems in healthcare costs and administration. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement that «this is another desperate attempt by a failed president to escape Americans' revulsion with his failed agenda, amounting to one tank of Trump-inflated gas.»
Cubanski noted that the rebate payments are being distributed when Americans are already feeling the bite of higher food, energy and petrol prices, with surging healthcare costs compounding those pressures. «This might be helpful for people but it might not go very far,» she said.
4
