The Trump administration announced on Tuesday, July 29th, 2026, its decision to end a Medicare premium subsidy program established during the Biden administration. The program, which provided subsidies for Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage, will expire at the end of the year and will not be offered in 2027.
Medicare Part D is an optional prescription drug coverage plan offered by private insurers to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for brand-name and generic medications. It can be purchased as a standalone plan to supplement Original Medicare or as part of a bundled Medicare Advantage plan. Approximately 25 million Americans currently carry standalone Part D drug plans, according to Reuters.
The Biden-era program had restructured Part D to include a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs and allowed Medicare to negotiate prices for certain high-cost medications.
The Trump administration criticized the subsidy program, alleging it benefited insurance companies more than enrollees. Despite ending the subsidies, CMS Administrator Dr. stated that premiums will increase by less than $10 for most Medicare recipients, with many seeing lower premiums. He added, “Every Medicare beneficiary still has access to low-cost plans, and we will continue to lower prescription drug prices for every American patient, from more MFN deals to our policy giving seniors access to GLP-1s for $50 a month.”
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expects to release detailed information on the costs associated with this change in mid- to late-September 2026.
Sources
- The Hill
- Reuters (cited within The Hill article)
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