Here’s how Trump could soon screw millions of Medicare recipients—again
On New Year’s Day, millions of Americans will see their prescription drug costs capped at $2,000 per year—and it’s thanks to the actions of President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress.
Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, federal law prohibits out-of-pocket prescription drug costs from exceeding $2,000 for many Medicare beneficiaries. The AARP estimates that about 3.2 million Americans will save money on prescription medications in 2025, which will increase to more than 4 million people by 2029.
But, of course, Republicans didn’t support the law that made this happen. In both the House and Senate, Republicans stood together and opposed the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill only received votes from the Democratic caucus before being signed into law by Biden.
The Inflation Reduction Act combined several provisions to cut health care costs—including an insulin benefit for which Donald Trump falsely claimed credit—along with incentives for companies and organizations to use clean energy technologies.
Since the law hit the books, the GOP has tried to undermine it with 54 unsuccessful votes led by Republicans in Congress to repeal portions if not all of the law.
While Trump has not specifically addressed the Medicare cap, he has expressed anger at the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy credits and has made clear his interest in reversing those measures.
During the election, Trump claimed that he would not cut safety net programs like Medicare, but during an interview with CNBC in March he said that “there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements in terms of cutting.”
Under the guise of “government efficiency,” Trump nominated billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as co-chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency to rail against purported government waste and abuse. Musk has already been exercising his power, leading Republican opposition to a bill that funded pediatric cancer research and services for 9/11 first responders.
Similarly, Trump nominated quack television doctor Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Oz and Trump have advocated for transferring people to Medicare Advantage, which is a scheme to privatize many of the services that Medicare currently offers.
Project 2025, a far-right initiative written by several Trump-affiliated individuals, has put Medicare squarely within its sights by backing Medicare Advantage, which would significantly limit millions of enrollees’ choices of doctors and specialists. Trump also chose one of the key architects of Project 2025, Russell Vought, to serve as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Similarly, Trump is directly connected to one of the most visible attacks on health care benefits: the push to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Trump campaigned heavily on the issue during his 2016 election campaign, and as president he tried to restrict the program from offering health care coverage to millions of Americans. In 2017, Republicans came extremely close to repealing the entire program, which would have upended health insurance for millions of people.
Despite Republican opposition, Democrats were able to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which is helping millions of Americans. But the incoming president has a history of attacking health care benefits, and the prescription drug price cap could be his next casualty.