Ahead of the October 2026 midterm elections, President Donald Trump is issuing $90 Medicare Part B rebates to over 20 million seniors and $500 checks to 1 million Affordable Care Act enrollees. While the administration frames the payments as relief from past overcharges, critics and ethics experts label them political stunts. In response, a growing movement of recipients is redirecting these federal checks directly to local charities and Democratic political candidates.
Recipients donating payments to charities and political causes
- ▪A recipient named Nancy contributed her government refund payment to a mutual aid fund supporting a transgender woman.
- ▪Recipients of the Trump administration's $90 payments donated their funds to local charitable organizations, including the New Arrivals Institute, the Interactive Resource Center, and Keys to Change.
- ▪A social media user donated his $90 federal check to the States Project, an organization focused on building Democratic majorities in state legislatures.
- ▪Some recipients of the federal health payments redirected their funds to Democratic political campaigns, including those of Roy Cooper, Janelle Stelson, and Adam Hamilton.
Details of Medicare Part B rebate program
- ▪The $90 Medicare Part B rebate program costs approximately $2 billion and draws funds from the Medicare Improvement Fund created by Congress in 2008.
- ▪Eligible Medicare Part B beneficiaries are set to receive their $90 rebate automatically in October 2026 via direct deposit or paper check from the Treasury Department.
- ▪In October 2026, President Donald Trump initiated payments of $90 to over 20 million Medicare Part B enrollees and $500 refunds to nearly 1 million Affordable Care Act beneficiaries ahead of the midterm elections.
- ▪The $90 Medicare Part B rebate applies to 20.8 million beneficiaries who live in the U.S. and do not receive Medicaid premium assistance or pay income-related monthly adjustments.
- ▪Approximately 35 million Medicare Advantage enrollees and 12 million low-income older adults receiving Medicaid premium assistance are ineligible for the $90 rebate.
Criticism and political backlash against payments
- ▪Natasha Murphy of the Center for American Progress stated that the check distribution is an attempt by the Trump administration to cover up previous healthcare rollbacks.
- ▪Virginia Canter of the Democracy Defenders Fund and Richard Painter questioned the legality and ethics of President Donald Trump using government funds for pre-election payments and promotional TV ads.
- ▪Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf and Senator Ron Wyden characterized President Donald Trump's pre-election payment initiatives as desperate political stunts that fail to shift voter preferences.
Proposed $5,000 midterm election checks
- ▪President Donald Trump promised to send $5,000 checks to every adult American if the Republican Party retains majorities in both the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections.
- ▪President Donald Trump first introduced his proposal to send $5,000 checks to adult Americans at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas.
Debatable claims
- ▪Pre-election healthcare checks are a justified return of excess government funds to taxpayers
- ▪Presidents should not disburse direct federal checks to voters immediately before an election
- ▪Promising voter checks contingent on midterm results is an acceptable campaign strategy
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