Reuters tallies $2.35 billion in Trump administration payments before midterms

Response / context

The White House says the Medicare payments use a congressionally funded Medicare Improvement Fund to offset Part B premiums and describes the marketplace payments as refunds of excessive fees set under the prior administration. Eligibility is limited. CMS lists 20.8 million eligible people in Original Medicare Part B who live in the United States, do not receive Medicaid premium assistance and do not pay an income-related surcharge; Medicare Advantage enrollees are excluded. AP reports that fewer than one-third of all Medicare recipients qualify, including exclusions affecting roughly 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees and millions of low-income or disabled beneficiaries. Critics, including Senator Ron Wyden, call the $90 payments a preelection stunt; the White House says it is putting money back into Medicare patients' hands. Reuters also noted $150 million in Alaska transmission funding announced the day Vice President JD Vance campaigned there, while an administration official said the project would serve nearly three-quarters of the state's population. The timing and geographic distribution are documented facts and Reuters analysis; the cited sources do not establish vote-buying, illegality or an improper motive. Trump's separate promise of $5,000 for every adult citizen is not enacted policy and would require congressional approval.