Trump administration eyes end to subsidies in Medicare’s prescription drug plan

When George W. Bush’s administration took steps to pass Medicare Part D ahead of the Republican president’s re-election campaign, the entire process was an embarrassing mess. The White House misled Congress about the cost of the prescription drug program, GOP leaders on Capitol Hill used ugly tactics to force through legislation and Republicans insisted the whole endeavor be deficit financed, their “fiscal responsibility” rhetoric notwithstanding.

Democrats fought against the proposal, pushing a more efficient and more cost-effective approach, but their efforts fell short, and Bush’s policy became law in late 2003.

In the years that followed, Democrats resisted calls to repeal Medicare Part D and instead took steps to make it better. In fact, during Joe Biden’s presidency, federal policymakers agreed to help subsidize millions of seniors’ prescription drug costs as part of a broader effort to improve the Bush-era policy.

Take a wild guess what Donald Trump and his team want to do to those subsidies. The Wall Street Journal reported:

The Trump administration plans to end a subsidy program that helped hold down premiums for Medicare drug plans, a move that could leave many seniors facing higher rates for their prescription coverage next year.

The move will eliminate a program that is giving insurance companies an estimated $3.6 billion in subsidies this year to blunt increases in premiums for the Medicare prescription plans, known as Part D. The program will end after 2026, according to administration officials.

Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, confirmed via social media that the subsidies had been scrapped, but he argued that they were no longer necessary and that Medicare beneficiaries would have other options for low-cost prescription drug plans.

The Journal’s report, however, noted “roughly 25 million people have Part D plans, and they will learn about their 2027 rates in the fall,” and roughly 75% of beneficiaries should expect to see some kind of increase in their out-of-pocket costs.

That timing is of particular interest. The New York Times reported that in the weeks leading up to November, “Medicare beneficiaries could experience sticker shock while shopping for next year’s drug plan,” when insurers’ annual “notice of change” disclosures typically reach Americans’ mailboxes.

The weeks leading up to November is also known as the early-voting period across much of the country.

So ahead of an election season in which voters are likely to focus heavily on the cost of living and affordability, the Trump administration, which already scrapped subsidies for Affordable Care Act customers, is also taking aim at subsidies for Medicare beneficiaries — right before the midterms.

The Pew Research Center published the results of its latest national poll last week, and when it came to affordability and the cost of living, Americans said they were concerned more about healthcare costs than about any other issue, including the price of gasoline and groceries.

I wonder how congressional Republicans and the GOP candidates whose names will appear on ballots in the fall feel about the president’s latest healthcare idea.

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