President Trump is sending $90 checks to 20 million older Americans on Medicare, the White House said on Friday, the third wave of federal cash headed to voters in the weeks before the November midterms.
The one-time payments go to enrollees in Medicare Part B, which covers doctor’s visits, and will arrive by “early October,” according to a White House fact sheet. More than 60 million people are enrolled in Part B; those whose premiums are paid by Medicaid, or who pay an income-related surcharge, are not eligible. The standard monthly Part B premium is about $203, so the check covers just under half of one month.
Mr. Trump said the money would come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which Congress created in 2008 to finance enhancements to traditional Medicare. Seniors can check their eligibility at 1-800-633-4227 and the status of a payment at 1-800-772-1213, the White House said.
The rebate follows $500 checks that began reaching more than 950,000 people in 30 states this week, which the White House has described as returning “Obama overcharges” to Affordable Care Act enrollees. The Biden administration collected surplus user fees from insurers, which the White House says were passed on to patients as higher premiums. Recipients are also getting a letter from Mr. Trump: “I am proud to return your money to you, and I will never stop fighting to put the American People FIRST, restore Affordability, protect your hard-earned money, and lower the Cost of Healthcare.”
Karl Widerquist, a philosophy professor at Georgetown University-Qatar who has written several books on universal basic income, told Business Insider the checks had “very little relation to UBI,” since they go only to select enrollees as a repayment. But a flat payment to nearly a million people “without regard to how much they might have overpaid, makes the motivation to rectify overpayments questionable,” he said.
Thomas Roulet, a Cambridge University professor and ethics expert, said the program appeared to be “taking a dig” at the Biden administration’s policies, and reflected a libertarian view that “citizens know better how to spend their money than government does.”
The checks reach households under some strain. The U.S.-Iran conflict has driven up energy prices, and rising Treasury yields are pushing up interest rates on credit cards, car loans and mortgages. Health insurance premiums have risen sharply for many families since the end of last year, when Republicans blocked Democrats from extending subsidies that had lowered them.
A third stream of money is aimed at children. The Treasury Department said on Thursday that more than 60 million Americans under 18 have been automatically enrolled in Trump Accounts, the tax-deferred investment accounts that launched on July 4. Frank Bisignano, the IRS chief executive, said Friday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” that up to 25 million of the accounts could be funded by mid-October, though it was unclear whether he meant family and employer contributions or grant money. Children born from 2025 through 2028 qualify for $1,000 in Treasury seed money, and Michael and Susan Dell committed $6.25 billion for children born from 2016 to 2024, a commitment the Dell Foundation says could fund accounts for some 25 million children. About 72 companies have pledged to match contributions for employees’ children, Mr. Bisignano said. “We have many more donors that want to be part of this.”
Families must still claim the auto-enrolled accounts through the Trump Accounts app to receive the deposits.
In September, Mr. Trump floated a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” for every American, but only if Republicans keep both chambers of Congress in November, when control of the House and Senate is on the ballot. Democrats lead in recent national polling, according to CNBC.
Mr. Widerquist said the $5,000 promise was “much more like a UBI” but questioned why the president would wait, with Republicans already in control of Congress. “Republicans could almost certainly get enough Democratic support to overcome a filibuster and get checks to people before Christmas,” he said. “Apparently, the President doesn’t want to give checks to Americans unless Donald Trump gets something out of it.”