(A)Political - October 3rd

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Trump Issues $2 Billion To 20 Million Seniors

_{By: Atlas}

President Donald Trump said late Friday that his administration would "immediately" begin sending "Checks" of "nearly $100" to more than 20 million seniors to help pay Medicare Part B premiums. A White House fact sheet dated the same day, Oct. 2, put the payment at $90 a person, drawn from the Medicare Improvement Fund.

"Immediately" is Trump's word. The Truth Social post went up at 10:56 p.m. Eastern time. The fact sheet's clock is early October: most eligible people by direct deposit, others by a paper check to the address on file with Medicare. Neither the post nor the fact sheet said that a deposit had already been made or a check already mailed.

Trump wrote, "We are finally using this Fund, along with my Most Favored Nations Deals, to substantially LOWER costs for our Seniors."

Who is supposed to get the $90

The fact sheet says the government will make one-time payments of $90 to help more than 20 million people enrolled in Medicare Part B, the coverage that helps pay for doctor visits and other outpatient care, as distinct from Part A hospital insurance.

Most Part B enrollees qualify. Anyone whose premium is already paid by Medicaid is excluded. So is anyone who pays an income-related monthly adjustment amount, the surcharge on higher-income beneficiaries, which begins above $109,000 of modified adjusted gross income on an individual return or $218,000 on a joint return in the 2026 tables from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Those cutoffs reflect 2024 income.

The White House did not give a count more precise than "more than 20 million." At $90 each, 20 million payments would come to $1.8 billion. The fact sheet said Congress had given the fund $2 billion.

What the statute says the fund is for

Congress created the Medicare Improvement Fund in 2008. Under Section 1898 of the Social Security Act, the money is available to the secretary of health and human services for improvements to original Medicare's fee-for-service program under Parts A and B, including adjustments to payments for items and services furnished by providers and suppliers. The statute does not describe cash payments to beneficiaries.

The statute makes $2.041 billion available for services furnished during and after fiscal year 2027, which began on Oct. 1. Public Law 119-103, enacted Sept. 2, substituted $2.041 billion for $2.062 billion. The fact sheet's figure is $2 billion.

The secretary may obligate funds only if the secretary determines that the balance can cover the obligation, and the chief actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the appropriate budget officer certify that determination. The fact sheet does not say that certification has been made.

The White House said the fund had never been used, and that Trump would be the first president to use it to lower costs directly for seniors. Trump called the account a "pointless 'Slush Fund'" that "has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends."

The fact sheet said Democrats took $20.7 billion from the fund through the Affordable Care Act. Notes to the statute record that a balance of $20.74 billion was reset to zero under that 2010 law.

Three promises before Election Day

An Associated Press-NORC poll conducted Sept. 24–28 found that 82% of adults disapproved of how Trump is handling the cost of living and 17% approved. On the economy, 26% approved and 73% disapproved. Asked whether higher-than-usual prices were more because of his policies or more because of factors outside his control, 65% said his policies. The survey of 2,140 adults has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

The $90 is one of three payment promises Trump has put before voters ahead of Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. He announced them between Sept. 9 and Oct. 2, 23 days apart.

On Sept. 9, at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, he said that if Republicans win the House and the Senate he will issue a $5,000 dividend to every adult citizen. He repeated the condition Friday night, writing that "the highly popular $5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections." Marc Goldwein, senior policy director at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said Trump has no authority to send that dividend without approval from Congress. The sum is not a draw on the Medicare Improvement Fund. Republicans hold majorities in the House and the Senate. Control of both chambers is on the Nov. 3 ballot.

On Sept. 10 the White House announced the Working Families Obamacare Refund: $500 each to nearly 1 million people in 30 states who do not receive premium assistance, a refund of excess federal-exchange user fees the administration says were passed on in higher premiums. The White House said the checks would begin in October. An administration official later told CNBC that the Treasury Department is releasing the checks, and that sending began on Sept. 30.

The Oct. 2 fact sheet places the $90 in early October.

The premium went up

Trump wrote that the money would help with Part B premiums "which we have already reduced by significant amounts." The standard monthly Part B premium went up $17.90 this year, from $185 in 2025 to $202.90 in 2026, not down. The annual deductible is $283, up from $257.

One payment of $90 is less than half of a single month at the standard rate. It does not change the premium.

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