Insurance
Home›Insurance›Health Insurance›Dr. Oz says many seniors may see lower Medicare drug p…
Dr. Oz says many seniors may see lower Medicare drug premiums next year
A Trump administration wind-down of a Biden-era Medicare Part D subsidy would leave only about a quarter of enrollees with flat or lower premiums, a Wall Street Journal-linked official said.
The Trump administration is winding down a program that previously limited premium increases for Medicare prescription drug plans, a change that could raise costs for some seniors, according to coverage by Yahoo Finance.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a Tuesday post that “many” seniors would see lower premiums next year. However, a Trump administration official told the Wall Street Journal that only about a quarter of enrollees are projected to have premiums stay flat or fall.
The initiative began under the Biden administration in 2024 and provided federal subsidies to restrain premium increases for Medicare Part D standalone plans, which cover prescription drugs. The Government Accountability Office estimated that health insurers received $9.8 billion in subsidies in 2025 and 2026.
The article says the Part D program now has roughly 25 million Americans enrolled in standalone prescription drug plans. It also notes that the GAO projected premium increases without the subsidy, estimating that 4 million beneficiaries, or 30%, could have faced higher premiums if the program had not been established.