Donald Trump says more than 20 million Medicare recipients will receive one-time payments of nearly $100 within days, with the funds either deposited directly into their bank accounts or delivered by mail.
The president announced the payments Friday, saying his administration was using a little-known federal fund to return money to Americans facing rising healthcare expenses.
However, the payment will not be available to every Medicare beneficiary.
The $90 payments are intended for eligible Medicare Part B enrollees to help offset their premiums. According to the White House, most qualifying recipients should see the money in their bank accounts early this month.
People whose Medicare premiums are already covered through Medicaid will be excluded. Higher-income beneficiaries who pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, or IRMAA, will also be ineligible.
Eligible recipients are not expected to submit an application to receive the money.
Anyone who typically receives federal benefits through direct deposit should have the $90 sent automatically to their bank account.
Medicare beneficiaries without direct deposit will receive a check at the mailing address on file with the program, the White House said.
Donald Trump says more than 20 million Americans enrolled in Medicare will receive surprise payments of nearly $100, with many deposits going directly into their bank accounts
The president announced the plan Friday night
The administration estimates that more than 20 million people will receive the Medicare payment.
The announcement comes during a notable surge of checks and proposed payments from the Trump administration in the weeks leading up to November’s closely watched midterm elections.
Only days earlier, the administration began sending $500 checks to almost one million Americans who purchased health coverage through Obamacare.
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Trump says those recipients were overcharged under the Biden administration through fees collected to run HealthCare.gov, leaving the federal government with hundreds of millions of dollars in surplus funds.
In a letter accompanying the checks, Trump told recipients: “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov.”
“That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!”
The Obamacare payments are going to eligible residents in 30 states that rely on the federal HealthCare.gov exchange. They primarily benefit people who paid their entire insurance premium without receiving federal assistance.
Officials say the funds come from excess user fees collected to operate the federal insurance marketplace.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks with Vice President JD Vance during a Tuesday news conference on alleged Obamacare fraud
Vance announced a federal crackdown on Affordable Care Act fraud, removing more than 750,000 allegedly ineligible enrollments and barring hundreds of suspected brokers in an effort expected to save taxpayers $2.2 billion
And Trump is dangling an even more extraordinary potential payday before voters if Republicans prevail in November.
The president has pledged to send every adult American citizen a whopping $5,000 ‘Trump dividend’ – but only if Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
‘Because we’ve done so well, and because our country is making so much money, only I can make this promise to you,’ Trump said when unveiling the proposal at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
‘If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate… I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.’
Trump later boiled the pitch down even further.
‘If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,’ he said.