October 3, 2026
US President Donald Trump announced the start of disbursing one-time cash payments of $90 to more than 20 million beneficiaries of the “Medicare” health care program, in order to contribute to covering “Medicare Part B” premiums, with the funds starting to arrive during the month of October. The White House explained that the vast majority of eligible beneficiaries will receive funds via direct deposit, while paper checks will be mailed to beneficiaries who do not have direct deposit.
In a post on the “Truth Social” platform, Trump indicated that these funds would be disbursed from the “Medicare Improvement Fund,” a federal fund established in 2008 for the purpose of making improvements to the health care program designated for the elderly and people with disabilities. According to White House data, the financial allocations allocated to the fund amount to two billion dollars, making the Trump administration the first to employ this fund to provide direct payments aimed at alleviating the financial burdens on the program’s beneficiaries.
On the political level, Trump directed sharp criticism at the Democratic Party, accusing it of misusing the fund’s resources in the past and financing what he described as “waste and fraud.” He also held his predecessor, Joe Biden, responsible for bringing the “Medicare” and “Social Security” programs to the brink of collapse, attributing this to the immigration policies followed by the previous administration.
In the same context, Trump confirmed that the $90 payments are completely separate from another program to return money to about a million Americans, who the White House indicated had overpaid for their health coverage under the Affordable Care Act during the Biden era. Trump also renewed his pledge to disburse what is known as “Trump Dividends,” worth $5,000 to every adult American citizen, provided that the Republican Party wins a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections.
These measures come ahead of the midterm elections scheduled to be held in November 2026. While the Trump administration promotes these payments as an essential step to reduce health care costs, critics charge that these promises and cash payments are purely electoral in nature and wrapped in a propaganda context.
