President Trump Announces Medicare Improvement Fund Payments for Seniors

President Donald J. Trump announced that the federal government will be making one-time payments of $90 per person to help more than 20 million enrollees pay for their Medicare Part B premiums.

• Payments will be made from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which has been given $2 billion by Congress for the purposes of making improvements to the Medicare fee-for-service program, but has never before been utilized.
• Most eligible seniors will receive the payment in the form a direct deposit of $90 in early October. Those without direct deposit will receive a check, also sent in early October, to the mailing address they have registered with Medicare.
• Most Medicare Part B enrollees are eligible for the payments. Those whose premiums are already paid by Medicaid or who pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount do not qualify.
• Seniors can call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to check on their eligibility for the premium rebate. Beneficiaries who want to check on the status of their payment should call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213.

HISTORIC ACTION TO HELP SENIOR CITIZENS: With this action, President Trump is the first President to ever use the Medicare Improvement Fund to directly lower costs for senior citizens.

• Established in 2008, no Administration has ever utilized or made payments from the Medicare Improvement Fund.
• Previous Congresses used the Medicare Improvement Fund in ways that increased healthcare costs for the American people, such as when Democrats raided $20.7 billion from the fund as part of the Unaffordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
• President Trump believes that Medicare Improvement Funds should be used to directly help people on Medicare, not special interests, and is returning healthcare dollars back into the hands of the American people to benefit them and their individual healthcare needs.