Trump Announces $90 Medicare Payments for Seniors Ahead of Midterm Elections

President  Donald Trump has announced that more than 20 million senior citizens will receive $90 each to help cover Medicare premium costs, just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Trump made the announcement late Friday on social media. It comes after he said last month that about 1 million people would receive $500 rebate checks to help pay for Affordable Care Act (ACA) premiums.

Trump has also promised during his campaign to send $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections. The proposal would require congressional approval and could cost more than $1 trillion, potentially increasing the federal deficit and adding to inflationary pressures.

At a rally in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday night, Trump highlighted the $5,000 proposal and said about 70,000 Ohio families would receive ACA rebates within the next few days.

Trump also referred to the $1,776 payments announced for military personnel in December, while suggesting that the timing of those payments could have been handled differently. “Maybe I should have waited a year,” Trump said, adding that he had wondered whether the payments should have been made closer to the election.

The new Medicare payments come as Trump faces growing political pressure over the cost of living. Polling cited by The Associated Press shows that more Americans are blaming the president for high gasoline and grocery prices. Only 17% of Americans approve of his handling of inflation, according to the AP report.

Trump has dismissed concerns about affordability and maintained that the U.S. economy is performing strongly.

The White House said the $90 payments for seniors will be funded through the Medicare Improvement Fund, which was established by Congress in 2008 to provide flexible funding for improving Medicare operations and payments to healthcare providers.

Source: The Associated Press (AP)