Trump's promised drug discount cards for seniors have become a 'last-minute, thrown-together' fiasco


President Trump's Election Day promise to seniors is reportedly not working out.
In late September, Trump made a surprise announcement he'd be sending $200 drug discount cards to Medicare recipients with a goal of getting them distributed by Election Day. Health and Human Services Department officials were surprised too, and have since been "scrambling" to get the plan off the ground ever since, Politico reports.
The Trump administration reportedly wants the plan finalized by Friday and to send letters telling 39 million Medicare beneficiaries about the promotion by next week, Politico reports. One health official said they didn't know about the plan "until the public found out too," and another HHS official said "it's turning into this last-minute, thrown-together thing."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The letters, sent at an estimated cost of $19 million, will apparently tell seniors how the plan will help lower drug costs and may bear Trump's name. But Stacie Dusetzina, a Vanderbilt University professor who reviewed the draft proposal, said the cards are a "poorly designed experiment" if cutting drug prices is the goal. Altogether, the program will end up taking $8 billion from the Medicare trust fund, which is set to run dry by 2026. And since the Medicare trust fund is paid for by taxes and Medicare premiums, the cards could end up "returning patients' premium payments to them, in effect," said Rachel Sachs, a professor at the Washington University School of Law.
Instead of an innovative approach to drug pricing, one HHS official sees "a solution in search of a problem and a bald play for votes in the form of money in pockets," they told Politico. And while the letters about the cards may be out the door next week, the actual discounts may not be in seniors' hands until well after the election. Read more at Politico.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventure
Feature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream' and 'Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television'
Feature Private equity and the man who created 'I Love Lucy' get their close-ups
-
Can Texas redistricting save the US House for the GOP?
Today's Big Question Trump pushes a 'ruthless' new plan, but it could backfire
-
Trump threatens Russia with 'severe tariffs'
speed read The president also agreed to sell NATO advanced arms for Ukraine
-
IDF blames 'error' for strike on Gaza water line
Speed Read Israeli forces attack Palestinians, including children, collecting water in central Gaza
-
Iran still has enriched uranium, Israeli official says
Speed Read It remains unclear how long it would take Iran to rebuild its nuclear program following US and Israeli attacks
-
Trump U-turns on weapons to Ukraine
Speed Read Unhappy with Putin, Trump decides the US will go back to arming Ukraine against Russia's attacks
-
Ukraine scrambles as Trump cuts weapons deliveries
Speed Read The halting of weapons shipments was driven by Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby, a Ukraine funding skeptic
-
IAEA: Iran could enrich uranium 'within months'
Speed Read The chief United Nations nuclear inspector, Rafael Grossi, says Iran could be enriching uranium again soon
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Iran nukes program set back months, early intel suggests
Speed Read A Pentagon assessment says US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites only set the program back by months, not years. This contradicts President Donald Trump's claim.