A one-time $90 payment is set for Medicare Part B premiums
President Donald Trump said the government would send a one-time payment to help more than 20 million people on Medicare with Part B premiums. A White House fact sheet set the amount at 90 dollars, drawn from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which was established in 2008. His own post had spoken of checks of nearly 100 dollars. Medicaid-paid premiums and higher-income surcharges are outside the payment, and the transfer does not permanently lower the monthly premium.
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The White House set the premium payment at 90 dollars
President Donald Trump on Friday announced plans to send money to more than 20 million seniors on Medicare to help pay Medicare Part B premiums. A White House fact sheet the same day said the checks would be a one-time payment of 90 dollars. In his own post he had written of checks of nearly 100 dollars. The White House said the money would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund. Trump wrote that the payments would go out immediately.[1], [2]
The Medicare Improvement Fund was established in 2008 to allow general improvements to the health insurance programme and periodic adjustments to payments for suppliers and healthcare providers. Money from the fund is generally appropriated by Congress and is not given out by presidential fiat. The White House fact sheet said that with this action Trump is the first president to use the fund to directly lower costs for senior citizens. Trump described the fund as a pointless slush fund and said Democrats in Congress had used it for waste, fraud and abuse. He also wrote that he had pledged to protect Medicare and Social Security, which he said were on the verge of ruin under Joe Biden.[1]
Most eligible people are in line for a deposit or a check
The White House says most eligible participants are expected to receive a 90 dollar direct deposit in early October. People without direct-deposit details are to be sent checks at the mailing addresses registered with Medicare. The White House says the Medicare Improvement Fund has not previously been used for this purpose. Congress had allocated resources in that fund for improving the Medicare fee-for-service programme. The announcement specifies planned payments. It does not show that every eligible person has already received the money.[2]
Part B covers doctors’ visits, outpatient hospital care, medical equipment and some drugs administered by physicians. The 90 dollar payment is a one-off transfer. It is not a permanent reduction in the monthly premium. The programme does not cover every Medicare participant. People whose premiums are paid by Medicaid are excluded, as are higher-income participants who pay an income-related monthly adjustment. Larry Levitt, a health-policy executive at KFF, said people in Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurers also appear not to qualify. That reading is his.[2]
The pledge sits ahead of November’s midterm elections
The announcement came before November’s midterm elections, and shortly before enrollment opens for Medicare Advantage plans. Trump described the payment as his latest pledge to send voters money before voters decide control of Congress in November. Other health-insurance refunds discussed alongside the announcement have their own eligibility and funding. Those arrangements are separate from this Medicare payment. Trump’s announcement leaves uncounted how many of the more than 20 million people lack direct deposit. October has no named calendar day for a first deposit beyond the plan for early October and the president’s line that sending would begin immediately.[1], [2]
