AMAC EXCLUSIVE
Although Joe Biden is facing dismal poll numbers with virtually every demographic, the one surprising bright spot for the president has been his relatively strong performance with seniors. But cuts to Medicare Advantage benefits could threaten that support and leave Biden facing an impossible situation this November.
According to a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll from April, Biden leads Trump by one point in a two-way race for the White House among voters aged 65 or older. Another Siena College/New York Times poll from last month found Biden to have an even bigger advantage, 51 percent to 42 percent. Either result would represent a remarkable turnaround for Biden after he lost that age group by four points in 2020.
One likely reason for this apparent resurgence is that the Biden campaign has pursued an aggressive (and dishonest) strategy of claiming that former President Donald Trump will implement cuts to Social Security and Medicare. During multiple public appearances in recent weeks, Biden has insisted that Trump is “determined to cut Social Security and Medicare.”
In fact, precisely the opposite is true – Trump has pledged to “never do anything” to Social Security or Medicare, while Biden’s agenda threatens the financial viability of the programs and inflation eats into beneficiaries’ payouts.
Nevertheless, the Biden campaign is desperate to expand its lead with seniors as the president bleeds support from young and minority voters – typically two key pillars of the Democrat coalition. According to a Bloomberg report, across multiple battleground states, the Biden campaign is sponsoring senior-oriented events like bingo tournaments as well as airing attack ads against Trump at peak senior citizen viewing hours. The consistent focus of these ads is accusing Trump of planning to cut Medicare and Social Security.
But the problem with this attack strategy is that Biden has already made cuts to some Medicare services.
As recently reported by Axios, the Biden administration just reduced base payments for Medicare Advantage plans for the second consecutive year.
Medicare Advantage (Part C) is a plan offered by private insurers that includes all the benefits of traditional Medicare (Parts A and B) along with additional services like vision, dental, and prescription drug coverage. One of its main benefits is the inclusion of extra services not covered by traditional Medicare. Additionally, Medicare Advantage often provides lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs, although it typically requires members to use a network of approved healthcare providers. This can lead to more comprehensive and potentially cost-effective healthcare coverage for beneficiaries.
In total, more than 31 million Americans receive benefits through Medicare Advantage plans, which are particularly important for middle- and low-income seniors. On average, beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Advantage save about $2,400 per year compared to traditional Medicare. 52 percent of Medicare Advantage enrollees live below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, compared to 36 percent of traditional Medicare beneficiaries.
Not only will Medicare Advantage recipients see their funding drop, but they will also be required to provide more documentation to receive any financial support. With compensation now more directly linked to health conditions, enrollees will likely be compelled to submit multiple requests to receive the money they would otherwise already be entitled to, with no assurance that their application will be approved.
This shift will likely lead to a decrease in access to healthcare. According to Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins, “President Biden’s team is betting that MA beneficiaries won’t realize before the election the benefits Biden’s team is causing them to lose come January 2025.”
Moreover, as The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board has pointed out, “Medicare Advantage plans send notices of annual plan changes in the autumn—a few weeks before the November election. Seniors may be in for a rude cost and benefit shock when they try to renew. If seniors like their doctor, they might not be able to keep her.”
In response to the cuts, AMAC Action, the advocacy wing of the Association of Mature American Citizens, sent an open letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services blasting the decision. “The Biden administration’s cuts to Medicare Advantage will force private insurers to reduce benefits, purge plans, and withdraw from some markets, leaving seniors with less choice and higher costs,” the letter reads.
In a prepared statement, AMAC Action President Bob Carlstrom called the Medicare Advantage cuts “an attack on America’s seniors.”
“These very popular plans deliver great health outcomes while offering tremendous value to beneficiaries, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet thanks to Bidenomics,” Carlstrom continued. “Medicare Advantage has also been proven to lower health expenditures and we ardently advise this administration to strengthen this program instead of weakening it.”
Biden could be facing a brewing electoral disaster when it comes to his support among seniors as a result of these cuts. While older Americans are already unlikely to support a politician cutting their Medicare benefits, they are even more unlikely to tolerate a leader who falsely accuses his opponent of cutting Medicare while himself doing that very thing.
Andrew Shirley is a veteran speechwriter and AMAC Newsline columnist. His commentary can be found on X at @AA_Shirley.
For help with Medicare Advantage plans – or any questions you may have about Medicare – contact AMAC’s Medicare Advisory Service at 1-855-611-4856
