Trump sends ACA and Medicare checks. Are they enough to cover rising health care costs?

President Trump is sending checks to millions of people enrolled in Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, with the White House describing the efforts as helping to “reduce costs” for seniors and families. But experts say those payments may do little to offset rapidly rising health care costs.

On Friday, Mr. Trump announced on Truth Social that his administration would send checks of about $90 this month to more than 20 million Medicare participants under the program’s Part B plans.

The announcement followed the White House’s Sept. 10 statement that $500 checks would be sent to about 1 million people enrolled in an ACA plan this year through federal exchanges administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The payments, described as reimbursements for overcharges, are intended for people who did not receive ACA insurance subsidies.

“President Trump is delivering on his promises to lower costs for America’s patients by putting them first and taking on special interests who have used the status quo in Washington to drive up health care costs for Americans,” the White House said in an Oct. 2 statement about the Medicare controls.

Although the payments will help cover some of the health costs paid by seniors and households enrolled in the ACA, the money may not go far enough, health policy experts said. Americans cite health care costs as one of their top financial concerns, with nearly 30% reporting they have skipped or postponed health treatments in the past year because of costs, according to a poll from the nonprofit health policy research organization KFF.

“A plan to lower health care costs is welcome, but President Trump’s proposal to offer a one-time $90 payment to some Medicare beneficiaries will likely go unnoticed by most seniors,” Max Richtman, CEO of the nonpartisan National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, told CBS News.

The White House said Mr. Trump was taking steps to reduce health care costs for millions of Americans.

“President Trump is empowering Americans to take control of their health by putting money directly into the hands of Medicare patients,” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said in a statement to CBS News. “In addition to securing lower prices on prescription drugs through his Most Favored Nation Pricing Agreements, distributing $500 Obamacare rebate checks, and increasing price transparency across the board, President Trump is delivering on his promise to lower costs for America’s patients by putting them first and taking on special interests who have used the status quo in Washington to raise health care costs for Americans.

Mr. Trump also promised $5,000 “dividend” payments to every American adult if Republicans retain electoral control of the House and Senate after the November midterm elections. Some economists and other experts have raised doubts on the feasibility of the payments, as they would require Congress to authorize more than $1 trillion in spending and could revive inflation.

The Trump administration began sending ACA checks on September 30, while Medicare checks will be sent starting in early October.

Higher Medicare Part B premiums

Premiums for Medicare Part B, which covers medical services such as doctor visits, outpatient care and preventive screenings, have increased by more than $200 a year in 2026, and are expected to rise another $79 next year, according to June projections from the latest annual report from Medicare administrators.

That means the $90 check might not be enough to cover the increased costs seniors are already paying this year alone for their Part B plans, according to Juliette Cubanski, vice president and program director on health insurance policy at KFF.

“Receiving a one-time payment of $90 under this new plan from the Trump administration could help, but it might not go very far when people face higher costs for gas, heating their homes next winter, putting food on the table and meeting their mortgage payments,” she said.

Rising ACA Costs

Meanwhile, the $500 ACA check likely won’t cover rising costs for people who get their health insurance through the program’s marketplaces, said Cynthia Cox, senior vice president and ACA program director at KFF.

The average enrollee premium increased by $780 this year, an increase of 58% from 2025, according to a KFF analysis.

ACA plan costs rose sharply in 2026, partly because of the expiration of the enhanced premium tax creditswhich Congress allowed to expire in December. These tax breaks have helped reduce the cost of premiums for millions of middle-class Americans.

“This year, people are paying a lot more than last year for health insurance in the individual market,” Cox told CBS News. “It will definitely help some people – getting a $500 check is better than not getting a $500 check – but for most people it won’t cover their entire increase in costs.”

A more effective method of reducing health care costs would be to restore the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits, Brian Keyser and Natasha Murphy of the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank that supports the ACA, wrote in a Sept. 17 blog post.

Millions left behind

About 40 million Medicare Part B beneficiaries are not eligible for the $90 payment, while about 18 million ACA enrollees will not receive a $500 check, according to program enrollment data.

The $90 checks will go to seniors enrolled in traditional Medicare Part B who do not pay income-related premiums or receive premium assistance from Medicaid. Seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans are also excluded from the checks, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The Medicare check is reminiscent of President Trump’s proposal to send a $200 prescription drug card to help seniors pay for their medications before the 2020 presidential election, Cubanski said.

Although this plan never saw the light of day, it was also timed just before an important election. The new Medicare payments, which will be delivered by direct deposit, are expected to arrive just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Sen. Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, on Saturday called the $90 checks “an attempt to corrupt the American public.” But experts said the payments might barely register for some seniors.

“It is questionable whether many of these payments could go unnoticed,” Cubanski added. “People on Medicare receive a lot of mail from insurance companies and others trying to market plans during open enrollment season, so this letter could get stuck in all the other mail people receive.”