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# Trump's $90 Medicare Checks Skip the Majority of Wisconsin Enrollees
- URL: https://foxwatershed.com/trump-90-medicare-checks-wisconsin-medicare-advantage/
- Published: 2026-10-05T23:00:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-05T23:00:57.000Z
- Description: The one-time payments go out weeks before the midterms, but anyone on a Medicare Advantage plan is excluded. In Wisconsin, that's most people on Medicare.
- Author: Ethan Rouse
- Tags: National, The Midterm Monitor, Health

President Donald Trump said late Friday he'll send about 20 million Medicare enrollees $90 each to help cover their Part B premiums.1 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services puts the eligible count at 20.8 million.2 Most of Wisconsin's Medicare population won't get a check. People on private Medicare Advantage plans don't qualify,2 and in KFF's latest state figures, from 2024, 56% of Wisconsin's Medicare beneficiaries were in those plans, compared with 54% nationally.3 KFF puts the national share of eligible beneficiaries at 55% this year.4

The money goes out a month before the Nov. 3 midterms.5 Trump announced it on Truth Social and called its source, the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pointless “Slush Fund.”6 Voters over 65 are the most reliable age group at the polls.1

To get the payment, an enrollee has to be in Original Medicare Part B, live in the U.S., not receive Medicaid help with premiums, and not pay the income-related surcharge known as IRMAA.2 That carves out both ends of the income scale: low-income seniors whose premiums Medicaid helps cover, and higher earners who already pay more for Part B.1

Most eligible people will get a $90 direct deposit around Oct. 8, followed by an email or a letter from the President in mid-October.2 Others will get a Treasury paper check later in the month, marked as a Medicare Improvement Fund payment to offset the October premium.2 Enrollees can check eligibility at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).2

[Medicare Improvement Fund Premium Rebate Frequently Asked QuestionsMedicare Improvement Fund Premium RebateFrequently Asked Questions Q: What will the Medicare Improvement Fund do for Medicare beneficiaries?![](https://www.cms.gov/sites/default/files/favicon.ico)CMS![](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-improvement-fund-premium-rebate-frequently-asked-questions)](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-improvement-fund-premium-rebate-frequently-asked-questions?ref=foxwatershed.com)

Trump wrote that his administration had already cut Part B premiums by significant amounts.1 The standard premium went up instead, rising $17.90, nearly 10%, to $202.90 a month in 2026, the largest increase in four years.1 That's an extra $214.80 over a full year. A one-time $90 check covers about 42% of the increase, or less than half of a single month's premium.7

Congress created the Medicare Improvement Fund in 2008 to improve traditional Medicare, starting it with $2.2 billion, according to CNN.1 Administration officials told the Washington Post about $2 billion has gone unused for that purpose since.8 The White House calls Trump the first president to tap it.9 Congress, though, has repeatedly pulled money out of it to pay for other priorities, including $20.74 billion toward the Affordable Care Act in 2010.5

Larry Levitt, KFF's executive vice president for health policy, said the fund's language is broad and gives the administration substantial discretion.5 CMS hasn't laid out the legal basis for sending the money straight to enrollees.7 William Dow, a health policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said paying out roughly $1.9 billion leaves less for future Medicare improvements, calling the checks “perhaps good politics on the eve of an election.”7

The Medicare checks follow Trump's September pledge of $500 refunds to about 1 million Affordable Care Act enrollees.5 He's also promised every American adult $5,000 if Republicans hold the House and Senate, a plan that would need Congress and would likely cost more than $1 trillion.5 Just 17% of Americans approve of his handling of inflation, per polling cited by the AP,5 and an AP-NORC poll released Oct. 1 found 65% blame higher prices on his policies.7

The checks arrive with a presidential letter, one more piece of a preelection push. Fox Watershed reported last week on taxpayer-funded Trump ads airing on TV.

[Your Tax Dollars Want You to Love TrumpAt least three timeslots this last week, TV viewers have been greeted with a taxpayer funded Trump ad where he vows to beat Communism and Marxism while bragging about tax cuts and creating factory jobs. After Dana White makes an appearance, the bottom of the screen shows the bitter disclaimer![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/b4/edb4fd27-66fb-4967-8c7f-ec1cf54dfb05/content/images/size/w256h256/2026/06/transparent-5.png)Fox Watershedhttps://www.facebook.com/emrouse02![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ed/b4/edb4fd27-66fb-4967-8c7f-ec1cf54dfb05/content/images/2026/09/trumpmoneystealing.png)](https://foxwatershed.com/your-tax-dollars-want-you-to-love-trump/)

#### Sources & Credits

1. [Trump to give $90 to senior citizens for Medicare premiums | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/03/politics/medicare-payments-trump?ref=foxwatershed.com)
2. [Medicare Improvement Fund Premium Rebate Frequently Asked Questions | CMS](https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-improvement-fund-premium-rebate-frequently-asked-questions?ref=foxwatershed.com)
3. [Medicare Advantage Enrollees as a Percent of Total Medicare Population, by Plan Type | KFF State Health Facts](https://www.kff.org/medicare/state-indicator/enrollees-as-a-of-total-medicare-population-by-plan-type/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
4. [Medicare Advantage in 2026: Enrollment Update and Key Trends | KFF](https://www.kff.org/medicare/medicare-advantage-in-2026-enrollment-update-and-key-trends/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
5. [Trump Announces $90 Payments for Seniors on Medicare Ahead of Midterm Elections for Premium Costs](https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2026-10-03/trump-announces-90-payments-for-seniors-on-medicare-ahead-of-midterm-elections-for-premium-costs?ref=foxwatershed.com)
6. [Trump pledges to send $90 checks to millions of seniors on Medicare](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-pledges-medicare-90-dollar-checks-millions-seniors-rcna601312?ref=foxwatershed.com)
7. [Trump Is Promising Health Care Checks Before the Midterms. How Far Will They Go?](https://time.com/article/2026/10/04/trump-is-promising-health-care-checks-before-the-midterms-how-far-will-they-go-/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
8. [Trump announces plan to send $90 payments to millions of seniors - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/10/03/trump-announces-plan-send-90-payments-millions-seniors/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
9. [Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces Medicare Improvement Fund Payments for Seniors](https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/10/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-medicare-improvement-fund-payments-for-seniors/?ref=foxwatershed.com)