NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of older adults on Medicare prescription drug coverage could face steeper monthly costs in 2027, after the Trump administration concludes a temporary subsidy program that has helped offset premiums for the past two years.The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week announced it would wrap up the program, which was initially implemented by the Biden administration in 2024 to lower patients’ Medicare Part D prescription drug costs in response to effects of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.While federal officials insist the financial impact on Medicare beneficiaries will be minimal, the decision opens the Republican-led administration to potential political consequences in a high-stakes midterm election year. Voters have identified cost of living as a top concern, and many older adults, who tend to vote in high numbers, are on fixed incomes where every dollar counts. The roughly 25 million Americans with Medicare Part D plans will find out about their 2027 rates in the fall, when they are casting ballots in November’s elections.
Democrats slammed CMS’s move as part of a pattern of federal attacks on healthcare affordability, alongside federal Medicaid cuts and the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies that had reduced premium costs for working-age Americans in that program.“The Trump administration is actively raising prescription drug costs for 25 million seniors,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X in response to the news, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. “Heartless, cruel, and completely by choice.”
