With every day that passes since former President Joe Biden exited the White House, new scandals are uncovered regarding egregious mismanagement and bad decision-making driven by leftist ideology. Biden was supposed to be a centrist, but he governed far more like a Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) acolyte.
One bad decision that has gotten virtually no attention adversely affects seniors. On his way out the door, Biden initiated a de facto third round of cuts to Medicare Advantage, which is how a majority of U.S. seniors get their Medicare.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “54 percent of the eligible Medicare population” uses Medicare Advantage over traditional Fee-For-Service Medicare. This includes 60% or more of eligible enrollees in my state of Michigan and President Donald Trump’s adopted state of Florida and over 50% of eligible enrollees in every swing state in America.
Biden explicitly cut Medicare Advantage in 2023 and 2024 in a move that conservatives interpreted as a stealth effort to advance traditional Fee-For-Service Medicare “for all.” This third round of cuts will be accomplished — if the Trump administration lets it go into effect — through underfunding and arcane rule-making.
Biden and congressional Democrats’ signature “Inflation Reduction Act” contained policies that resulted in a 39% hike in seniors’ Medicare Part D premiums. Biden and his coterie of advisers knew that was a huge liability heading into a close election where seniors are the most reliable voting bloc. So, his administration decided to take money out of Medicare Advantage to stabilize the stand-alone Medicare Part D market, resulting in less funding for Medicare Advantage in favor of original Medicare.
Now, Trump is left to govern in a situation where bad Biden policy has left those 54% of eligible enrollees who use Medicare Advantage facing a program even more drained of resources. In and of itself, that’s bad. But it’s even worse when you consider that Medicare Advantage is better for taxpayers and entitlement solvency than traditional Fee-for-Service Medicare. Medicare Advantage may not look as attractive to seniors, but it is far better for public finances for seniors to use it.
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Trump has the opportunity to fix all this by revising the draft advance notice issued by Biden’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services team, making sure Biden’s sabotage of the Medicare Advantage program to paper over the problems with the Part D market never goes into effect. Bureaucrats at CMS cannot be allowed to normalize Biden-era mistakes in dark backrooms, free of public scrutiny and sunlight.
Newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has talked about the need to bring “radical transparency” to government. Shining a light on this situation is an important part of this. CMS fixing the situation will be key to advancing Trump’s agenda and delivering for the millions of seniors who voted for the president.
Saul Anuzis is the president of the 60 Plus Association.