President Donald Trump was handed the “opportunity to save Medicare” after the Biden administration rolled out its final Medicare Advantage proposal early in January that experts say underfunds the insurance plan after already facing rate cuts in previous years.
“This is Trump’s opportunity to save Medicare,” former Republican New York Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, who is also a former nurse and was chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission until 2019, told Fox News Digital in January.
“Medicare Advantage is Medicare for 34 million Americans who choose it. Those seniors are experiencing disruption with their healthcare as a result of two years of cuts — if Trump ensures MA gets funded in line with projected medical cost trends in 2026, he’ll be fixing Joe Biden’s mistake and giving seniors the healthcare they deserve right before the GOP’s midterm elections.”
Medicare Advantage plans are private health insurance plans that contract with Medicare and are used by roughly 34 million Americans. The program mostly enrolls adults older than the age of 65, but also offers benefits to people of all ages with disabilities. Traditional Medicare, conversely, is a federal health insurance program for adults older than the age of 65, as well as younger individuals with disabilities.
The Biden administration previously had made cuts to Medicare Advantage rates, including in April 2024, when experts said enrollees would face an additional $33 a month for out-of-pocket costs, or $396 a year, due to the cuts. Critics at the time said the cuts would be especially devastating to seniors living on fixed incomes who are already coping with ongoing inflation issues.
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Roughly two weeks before leaving office, the Biden administration rolled out its final regulation affecting Medicare Advantage, which did not outright cut rates as it did for 2024 and 2025, but increased the average benchmark payment to Medicare Advantage plans by 2.2%.
The proposal, however, seemingly works as another cut and underfunds Medicare Advantage because the proposed rates are still lower than the current rate of inflation, Buerkle said, with the consumer price index showing a 12-month inflation rate of 2.7%. The proposal also comes on the heels of the Biden administration finalizing a 1.12% cut for fiscal year 2024 and a 0.16% cut for fiscal year 2025.
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“Underfunding for Medicare Advantage will result in higher premiums, more out-of-pocket costs, and higher deductibles for the 34 million Americans who choose Medicare Advantage,” Buerkle told Fox News Digital. “This, on top of the inflation that the Biden Administration caused by their flagrant spending creates a difficult situation for those seniors on a fixed income.”
The proposal is not yet locked in, as the newly minted Trump administration has until April 7 to finalize its policy for fiscal year 2026.
“Medicare Advantage saved the federal government $144 billion over the last decade,” Buerkle said.
That is because Medicare Advantage plans “use taxpayer dollars more efficiently than traditional Medicare,” she said. “By managing the care for 34 million seniors, MA plans are able to offer more benefits for the same price as original Medicare. Senior satisfaction rate is high, too, with 96% of seniors reporting their satisfaction with their MA plan. So, making sure MA is funded appropriately is a gift to taxpayers,” Buerkle said.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services touted the proposal when it was released in early January, saying the health plan will continue providing affordable care, while “being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.”
The agency “has worked to ensure that people with Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D have access to stable and affordable offerings,” said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “Today’s Advance Notice continues CMS’ efforts to provide access to affordable, high-quality care in Medicare Advantage while being a good steward of taxpayer dollars. We are also continuing implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, ensuring people with Medicare Part D have more affordable coverage for their medications.”
Former Republican Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindall, who served as an advisor to the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services under President George W. Bush’s administration, published an op-ed for Fox Digital in December 2024, warning against the Biden administration issuing any last-minute Medicare Advantage cuts ahead of Trump taking back the Oval Office.
“Over the past two years, the administration has implemented a series of changes that have effectively reduced funding for Medicare Advantage,” he wrote. “These cuts are disguised as ‘payment adjustments,’ but the reality is clear: they are cutting funding for a program that seniors overwhelmingly support. The results? Higher premiums, reduced benefits, and narrower provider networks for many Medicare Advantage enrollees.”
Jindall added that Medicare Advantage can be improved to better serve seniors and other enrollees, but he argued “the left” has resisted improving the system in favor of promoting a government-focused program.
“Members in both parties have called for modifying the calculation of risk adjustments, to improve a system that can be gamed and often rewards companies for documenting patient acuity rather than actually improving outcomes,” he wrote. “But, the left does not want to improve Medicare Advantage — they want to undermine the program to advance their long-term goal of centralizing more health care under the government’s control.”
A Trump administration official told Fox Digital that staffers are reviewing Biden administration proposals and polices skeptically but that no policy has been set in stone related to Medicare Advantage.
Trump joined House Republican lawmakers in Florida on Jan. 27, when he vowed not to cut Medicare or Social Security.
“I will not sign any bill that cuts even a single penny from Medicare or Social Security for our great seniors. We don’t have to do that. We don’t have to do that. We’ll not touch those benefits in any way, shape or form. I want to use that because during the campaign, they had these fake ads that Trump is going to cut Social Security,” he said.
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Buerkle previously spoke to Fox News Digital that the Biden administration’s cuts for 2024–2025 served as a backdoor attempt to gut Medicare Advantage in an effort to promote “Medicare for All,” a government-focused health system that has long been on a policy wishlist for left-wing lawmakers.
Buerkle said the Biden admin’s latest and last policy proposal on Medicare Advantage “absolutely” serves as another backdoor attempt to push Medicare for All.
“Medicare for All advocates despise the success of Medicare Advantage because it reveals the flaws in a government-run managed care system,” she said. “The goal is simple: destroy MA as a means to get to Medicare for All.”
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