The claim: Vice President Kamala Harris argued in a speech on Friday that former President Donald Trump had tried to cut Medicare “every year.”
Verdict: False. President Trump did not try to cut Medicare while in office. The Biden-Harris Administration cut Medicare Advantage, which the vast majority of Medicare beneficiaries use over traditional Medicare.
In a speech on economic policy proposals, Harris said: [Trump] “Every year of his presidency, he tried to cut Medicare, threatening a system that tens of millions of seniors rely on.”
But despite Harris’ claims, this is not true. NBC News fact check Found President Trump’s White House budget proposal does not call for cuts to Medicare benefits.
NBC News writes:
The 2020 plan called for reforming Medicare to reduce payments to providers and suppliers through new incentives and lower inflation standards. Biden and Democrats supported similar “cuts” under Obamacare, expanding Medicare’s ability to pay by reducing payments to hospitals and insurers in exchange for more customers.
“Democrats have used this rhetoric for years. It’s false. Trump’s budget proposal didn’t cut Medicare benefits, it targeted providers and suppliers — the same ‘cuts’ Democrats enacted with the ACA,” NBC News senior political reporter Sahil Kapoor wrote.
“He tried to cut Medicare every year that he was president,” Harris said of Trump.
Democrats have used this argument for years. It’s false. Trump’s budget proposal didn’t cut Medicare benefits, it targeted providers and suppliers — the same “cuts” Democrats enacted with the ACA. https://t.co/Bwg82v513o
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) August 16, 2024
In contrast, the Biden-Harris Administration is moving to cut Medicare Advantage, which is much more popular than traditional Medicare, with more than 50% of seniors, roughly 33 million people, choosing it over traditional Medicare.
The Biden-Harris administration’s policies also forced them to bail out Medicare Part D with billions of dollars to bail out insurance companies and appease seniors 100 days before the presidential election.
Joe Grogan, who served as chairman of Trump’s Domestic Policy Council, said in an interview with Breitbart News that the administration’s efforts to spend billions of dollars to rescue Medicare Part D premiums amount to “putting a tourniquet on a fatal wound.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter. Sean Moran 3.
