Trump Indicates $90 Medicare Payments to 20 Million Being Sent Out Now
President Donald Trump has sent out an email to millions of Medicare recipients stating that his administration is in the process of sending them $90 payments.
According to an Oct. 9 email seen by The Epoch Times, the president said, “You are receiving a One-Time Payment of $90 to offset some of the cost of your October Medicare premium,” and added that the direct payment will ensure that Medicare recipients will see a benefit they can use for their individual needs.
“Healthcare dollars should benefit patients, not insurance companies or government bureaucrats,” states the email, which also touts the Trump administration’s efforts to lower health insurance premiums and the cost of prescription medication.
The Medicare-related payments were announced by Trump earlier this month, with eligible seniors receiving the $90 in a direct deposit. People without the ability to receive direct deposits will receive a check at the mailing address they have registered with Medicare, with both the payments and checks being sent in early October.
To be eligible for the payment, seniors must be enrolled in Medicare B health insurance. However, those whose premiums are already covered by Medicaid or who pay an adjusted amount based on higher income will not qualify.
A fact sheet released by the White House earlier this month said that more than 20 million seniors will get the aid.
When it was announced, Trump said on social media that the payments will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which he said was given $2 billion by Congress to improve the Medicare fee-for-service program.
The payment is the latest in a series of financial promises the president has made to voters heading into the midterm elections in November. Republicans hold a small majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate.
In September, Trump said during a rally that he would be sending $5,000 checks to all adult citizens if the Republicans keep control of the House and Senate in the midterms.
While Trump has said that he doesn’t think that he needs Congress to send those payments, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in an interview with CNN last month that it likely requires the legislature to act.
The Trump administration is also separately sending $500 payments to nearly 1 million Americans. The White House stated that those payments are a refund for what it describes as excessive fees charged to people who purchased health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health insurance law known as Obamacare.
Medicare is federal health insurance for Americans aged 65 or older and some with disabilities. Medicare Part B covers doctors’ services, outpatient care, and some preventive services such as flu vaccinations and diabetes screenings.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told NBC News on Sept. 10 that, if implemented, the $5,000 dividend checks for citizens would not be paid for with taxpayer dollars. He said the administration could “earn the money that Donald Trump wants to pay out, not from the deficit and not from taxpayers.”
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