The Trump administration’s recent cut to a temporary Medicare subsidy for prescription drugs is “unacceptable,” Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said at a virtual press conference Wednesday.
The subsidy in question is for Medicare Part D, the optional prescription drug plan for enrollees in the public health insurance program. Worth $9.8 billion, the subsidy kept down the cost of premiums for Medicare Part D enrollees in 2025 and 2026. However, the subsidy is temporary, and the Trump administration announced on July 28 that it will end it at the end of the year.
“This administration has money for bombs abroad, but not for our seniors here at home,” Gillibrand said at the press conference. “It’s a betrayal of our values and it is completely unacceptable.”
The Trump administration has claimed ending the subsidy will stabilize the prescription drug market and end a source of profiteering for insurance companies.
In a social media post, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said, “this administration is focused on solving real problems, not maintaining flawed programs that financially reward insurance companies and waste taxpayer dollars.”
The exact increase enrollees will pay isn’t yet clear, although, it could be under $10 or as high as $20, according to estimates from the health policy nonprofit KFF.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul joined Gillibrand on Wednesday, describing the Trump administration’s actions as “a new assault on seniors.”
“Your monthly premium will go up, thank you to the Republicans in Washington,” said Hochul at a senior center in New York City. “I want you to be aware of this because I find this abhorrent, especially when we are told that prices were going to come down on day one.”
The subsidies will expire on Jan. 1, 2027.
