Medicare benefits emerge President Biden’s drastic cuts to benefits in the popular Medicare Advantage program ahead of the election are likely to put him in a precarious position with older voters.
“Joe Biden is destroying Social Security and Medicare by letting millions of people into our country, and I’m not going to cut a penny from that. He’s destroying Medicare and Social Security,” Trump said at a rally on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia over the weekend, setting the stage for continued attacks on his 2024 presidential rival.
“Joe Biden has been cutting Medicare Advantage for the last two years. Did you know? He cut Medicare Advantage. It’s a total betrayal of seniors. If you check it out, you’ll see. He’s been cutting you for two years in a row.”
Medicare came up again in the first presidential debate on Thursday, with Biden putting in a dismal performance, stammering, “We finally defeated Medicare.”
“He’s right. He gutted Medicare,” Trump fired back. “And he’s destroying Medicare because he’s got a bunch of people coming in and putting them on Medicare and Social Security.”
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Former President Trump criticized President Biden for claiming to have been at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Trump visited the site in New York City just days after the Twin Towers were attacked. (Getty Images)
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are private health insurance plans that contract with Medicare and are used by over 33 million Americans. The program primarily serves adults over 65 years of age, but also provides benefits to people of all ages with disabilities. Traditional Medicare, on the other hand, is a federal health insurance program that serves adults over 65 years of age and younger people with disabilities.
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The Biden administration finalized plans to cut MA benefits in April, which experts say could increase enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs by $33 a month and $396 a year. Critics of the cuts say they will be especially devastating for seniors living on fixed incomes who are already dealing with ongoing inflationary challenges.
Fox News Digital spoke with Ann Marie Burkle, a former nurse, New York Republican and chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who said the cuts could be devastating for the Biden administration as the 46th president reaches the height of an election cycle.
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“Biden has made a huge blunder by letting far-left socialists control his policy and jeopardized the support of 33 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans who will face higher premiums, increased out-of-pocket costs and reduced benefits come November,” Buerkle said.
President Biden spoke at the University of Tampa in Florida on February 9, 2023 about his administration’s plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and reduce health care costs. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The cuts come as leftists in Congress continue to push for a “Medicare for All” bill that would establish universal health insurance. Buerkle said the Biden administration’s cuts this year are “actively sabotaging Massachusetts” and likely a backdoor attempt to push for a government-heavy system like Medicare for All.
“Far-left ideologues like Elizabeth Warren hate the success of Medicare Advantage as a public-private partnership because it weakens the case for government-run health care, or so-called ‘Medicare for All.’ Biden is actively promoting these far-left ideologues in his administration.” Sabotage MA This will support our model of government management and achieve socialist policies,” she said.
That sentiment was echoed in a May op-ed by Heritage Action Vice President Ryan Walker for Fox News Digital.
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“Biden and his allies want to cut MA and switch to a more government-run, fee-for-service ‘Medicare for All,’ which would mean less choice in doctors and less insurance options for things like vision and hearing. Recently, progressive leader Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and a coalition of 59 far-left Democratic House members sent Biden a letter arguing for ‘strengthening traditional Medicare’ and redirecting funds that ‘misdirected to MA,'” Walker wrote.
The Biden administration countered that “claims that the current Administration is cutting Medicare are completely false” and “disinformation,” adding that “protecting Medicare is a key priority for President Biden and one of the Department of Health and Human Services’ top priorities.”
“This is an arbitrary number. According to the rate announcement, payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to increase 3.7 percent next year to more than $16 billion. A $16 billion increase is not a cut,” Whitehouse told Fox News Digital.
“Leave it to well-funded insurance companies and industry front groups to portray this year’s Medicare Advantage payment increases as cuts. The disinformation spread by highly paid industry hacks and their allies is harming Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare Trust Fund.”
The administration proposed increasing payments to insurers that offer Medicare Advantage plans by 1 percent, adding that it would “ensure that enrollees are accurately and appropriately compensated for the services they receive.”
“Recovering overpayments from insurers is not a reduction in payments, just like the 1% increase in payments we are proposing for 2024. Such assertions are completely false.”
President Biden during the first presidential debate between himself and former President Trump ahead of the 2024 election, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (Kevin D. Lyles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
In an op-ed earlier this year, Buerkle wrote that Medicare benefits “Issues to win for the Republican Party“Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that voted for Trump in 2016 but switched to Biden in 2020, are home to the majority of seniors who receive health care through MA.”
“51% of Medicare-eligible Americans choose MA, and that number is growing every year. Nearly all of them self-report being satisfied with the program. That means that for 51% of seniors, Medicare Advantage is Medicare, and cutting the program equals cutting Medicare. Trump understands before the election that increasing health care costs for the most vulnerable in society is a terribly foolish idea, and other Republicans should follow his example,” Buerkle told Fox News Digital.
MA plans are overwhelmingly popular with enrollees, with 90% of enrollees saying they were satisfied with their plans in a 2021 analysis. Biden vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare from any cuts in his State of the Union address in March.
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“Tonight, let us all once again unite to stand up for seniors. Many of my friends on the other side want to repeal Social Security. If anyone here wants to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop them,” Biden said in his State of the Union address.
“I’m not going to cut one penny from Social Security or Medicare,” former President Trump said. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
“Not only will these cuts increase seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans’ out-of-pocket costs by an average of $396 next year, but the Medicare Advantage cuts will also negatively impact Medicare’s ability to pay. Lower cost to the federal government than Original Medicare Studies have shown that Medicare Advantage could help extend Medicare’s solvency. 17 years“MA offers the same benefits as Original Medicare for just 83 cents,” Buerkle added.
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The cuts have drawn plenty of criticism from Republicans and conservatives, who vocally argued in April that seniors on fixed incomes will suffer additional financial burdens.
President Biden speaks at a campaign event in Philadelphia on April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beyer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Older Americans are the most vulnerable people in our society. Most live on fixed incomes. Biden’s inflation is taxing everything they buy. Now he’s raising the price of Advantage plans, the plans millions of seniors rely on,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz posted on X. “This is unacceptable.”
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“President Trump delivered on his promise to protect Social Security and Medicare during his first term, and President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term,” Caroline Leavitt, national spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told Fox News Digital.
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“The only candidate who poses a threat to Social Security and Medicare is Joe Biden. Biden will allow countless illegal immigrants to flood in and, if they are allowed to stay, Social Security and Medicare will collapse. By unleashing American energy, slashing job-killing regulations, and embracing pro-growth, America First tax and trade policies, President Trump will swiftly rebuild the greatest economy in history and put Social Security and Medicare on a stronger footing for the next generation.”
Axios reported earlier this year that Biden administration officials believe benefits for enrollees will remain stable through next year, but researchers said the Biden team is gambling with the cuts ahead of the election.
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“President Biden’s team is betting that Massachusetts beneficiaries will not find out before the election about the benefits that Biden’s team plans to make them lose in January 2025,” Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins told the outlet.
