President Donald Trump announced Oct. 2 that 20.8 million eligible Medicare beneficiaries will receive a one-time $90 rebate toward their Part B premiums in October.
The White House said the money is intended to offset part of the monthly premium. The standard Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 in 2026, according to a CMS fact sheet.
Most eligible beneficiaries should receive the rebate by direct deposit on or around Oct. 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said. Treasury will mail checks later in October to people who do not use direct deposit.
Eligibility is limited to people enrolled in Original Medicare Part B who live in the United States. Medicare Advantage enrollees do not qualify. The payment also excludes people whose Part B premiums are covered by Medicaid and those who pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount.
Beneficiaries can check their eligibility by calling 1-800-MEDICARE, or 1-800-633-4227. Starting Oct. 15, they can call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 to ask about the status of a payment.
The rebates will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund. According to the White House, Congress provided $2 billion to the fund for improvements to Medicare’s fee-for-service program.
Congress created the fund in 2008 to support improvements to Original Medicare Parts A and B. CMS called the rebates its first direct payments to beneficiaries.
A 2023 Congressional Budget Office report found that CMS had not spent money from the fund since it was established. Congress had changed the amount available many times, adding money in some years and reducing it in others.
One of the largest reductions came through the Affordable Care Act. CBO calculated that the law reduced the fund’s available balance by about $20 billion. CMS places the reduction at $20.7 billion.
The Medicare rebates are part of a series of cash payments and proposals Trump has announced before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
On Sept. 10, he announced $500 payments for nearly 1 million people in 30 states. The administration described the money as refunds of excess HealthCare.gov user fees that had been passed along through insurance premiums, according to a separate White House fact sheet.
Trump has also promised $5,000 to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans win both the House and Senate.
“If Republicans win the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2026 Midterm Elections, I’m going to give all Adult Citizens in the United States of America, $5,000.”
Congress would have to authorize the money. The Constitution Annotated states that federal funds cannot be withdrawn from the Treasury without an appropriation made by law.
The Census Bureau counted roughly 245 million adult U.S. citizens in 2024. At that scale, the proposal would cost about $1.2 trillion. Trump’s Truth Social post did not explain how the payments would be funded or administered.
Trump announced another payment in December 2025: a $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” for more than 1.45 million military service members, according to the White House account of his year-end address.
The latest announcements arrive as voters remain unhappy about prices. An AP-NORC survey conducted Sept. 24-28 found that 17% of adults approved of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, while 82% disapproved.
His approval rating on the economy was 26%. The poll also found that 65% of adults attributed higher-than-usual prices more to Trump’s policies, while 33% blamed factors outside his control.
