More than 20 million seniors are in line for $90
President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration will begin sending one-time $90 payments to more than 20 million Medicare Part B enrollees. The White House says the money should begin arriving within days. Most eligible beneficiaries are expected to receive direct deposits in early October. Those without direct deposit should receive a paper check mailed to the address on file with Medicare. The payment is intended to help cover Part B premiums. Trump’s post described the amount as nearly $100, while the White House fact sheet lists the exact payment as $90. It is a rare case of a government announcement arriving with both a promise and a number.
The money is coming from an unused Medicare fund
The payment will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, created in 2008 and stocked with $2 billion by Congress for fee-for-service improvements. The White House says no administration had used the fund before and says Trump is the first president to tap it for direct payments to seniors. Trump called the account a pointless “Slush Fund” in his Truth Social announcement, arguing that Democrats in Congress had used it to pay for waste, fraud, abuse, and special interests while driving up health costs. The White House fact sheet also says previous Congresses took $20.7 billion from the fund as part of the Affordable Care Act. The political branding is loud, but the basic pitch is simple: use money sitting in an account instead of letting it gather bureaucratic dust.
Some Medicare beneficiaries will not qualify
Most Part B enrollees are eligible, but the payment does not cover everyone. Seniors whose Part B premiums are already paid by Medicaid are excluded, as are beneficiaries who pay the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount, known as IRMAA. People who want to check their eligibility can call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE, or 1-800-633-4227. Questions about payment status should go to the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213. Those details matter because “more than 20 million” is a large group, not a promise that every person enrolled in Part B gets the same deposit.
The announcement is separate from two other payment promises
Trump said the Medicare payment is separate from $500 “Working Families Obamacare Refund” checks already in motion for nearly one million Americans in 30 states. The administration says those recipients were overcharged on Affordable Care Act plans, and the checks were scheduled to begin going out in October. Trump also repeated his promise of a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” for every U.S. citizen if Republicans hold Congress in the November midterms. That payment remains tied to the election outcome, while the Medicare plan has a stated amount, eligibility list, and delivery schedule.
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