Stalin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2008
- Messages
- 3,836
Frump is following the great WartParty tradition of attacking the weak and vulnerable to make billions for his cabal
The Trump administration has launched an unrelenting offensive against Medicare—a centerpiece of American social policy that once stood as a minimal, yet vital, bulwark against poverty, illness, and suffering in old age.
Over the last three months in particular the scale and intensity of the assault have plumbed new depths. Through a combination of executive orders, regulatory sabotage, and covert restructuring, the administration has moved aggressively to privatize and dismantle what remains of this already frayed public health program.
The groundwork for this onslaught was laid by the Democratic Party—most notably under the Obama and Biden administrations—which facilitated a gradual but decisive shift toward privatization through their expansion and promotion of Medicare Advantage (MA). The Democrats’ bipartisan complicity with the Republicans has been essential in converting Medicare from a guaranteed public benefit into a goldmine for private insurers, eager to profit from taxpayer funds while offering seniors narrower care options and fewer protections.
What Trump has done—openly and without apology—is push the program closer to the edge of total privatization. His administration’s decisions reflect a calculated strategy of the financial oligarchy to gut federal oversight, reward corporate interests, and leave millions of elderly and disabled Americans at the mercy of private profiteers.
Trump’s central mechanism of destruction is the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, a privatized alternative to traditional Medicare. MA plans already receive up to 20 percent more in federal payments per enrollee than traditional Medicare, a disparity driven by fraudulent practices such as “upcoding,” where insurers inflate patients’ diagnoses to garner larger reimbursements, and “favorable selection,” in which they cherry-pick healthier individuals while billing the government as if they were chronically ill.
Rather than curb these abuses, the Trump administration expanded them. In April, it approved a 5.06 percent increase in MA payments for 2026, further funneling public money into corporate hands. It also took steps to make MA the default enrollment for new beneficiaries—an outrageous move that undercuts informed consent and stacks the deck against public Medicare.
Moreover, the Trump administration aggressively marketed MA plans through official emails from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that closely resembled advertisements. Insurance brokers were secretly incentivized with undisclosed bonuses to enroll seniors in MA plans, often without clear explanation of the consequences.
Many of these plans limit provider access, require prior authorization for treatment, and deny necessary services, disproportionately affecting those with complex health needs. This is not about “choice,” as the administration cynically claims. The inevitable effect will be to steer seniors into profit-making schemes masquerading as public policy.
comrade stalin
moscow
The Trump administration has launched an unrelenting offensive against Medicare—a centerpiece of American social policy that once stood as a minimal, yet vital, bulwark against poverty, illness, and suffering in old age.
Over the last three months in particular the scale and intensity of the assault have plumbed new depths. Through a combination of executive orders, regulatory sabotage, and covert restructuring, the administration has moved aggressively to privatize and dismantle what remains of this already frayed public health program.
The groundwork for this onslaught was laid by the Democratic Party—most notably under the Obama and Biden administrations—which facilitated a gradual but decisive shift toward privatization through their expansion and promotion of Medicare Advantage (MA). The Democrats’ bipartisan complicity with the Republicans has been essential in converting Medicare from a guaranteed public benefit into a goldmine for private insurers, eager to profit from taxpayer funds while offering seniors narrower care options and fewer protections.
What Trump has done—openly and without apology—is push the program closer to the edge of total privatization. His administration’s decisions reflect a calculated strategy of the financial oligarchy to gut federal oversight, reward corporate interests, and leave millions of elderly and disabled Americans at the mercy of private profiteers.
Trump’s central mechanism of destruction is the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, a privatized alternative to traditional Medicare. MA plans already receive up to 20 percent more in federal payments per enrollee than traditional Medicare, a disparity driven by fraudulent practices such as “upcoding,” where insurers inflate patients’ diagnoses to garner larger reimbursements, and “favorable selection,” in which they cherry-pick healthier individuals while billing the government as if they were chronically ill.
Rather than curb these abuses, the Trump administration expanded them. In April, it approved a 5.06 percent increase in MA payments for 2026, further funneling public money into corporate hands. It also took steps to make MA the default enrollment for new beneficiaries—an outrageous move that undercuts informed consent and stacks the deck against public Medicare.
Moreover, the Trump administration aggressively marketed MA plans through official emails from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that closely resembled advertisements. Insurance brokers were secretly incentivized with undisclosed bonuses to enroll seniors in MA plans, often without clear explanation of the consequences.
Many of these plans limit provider access, require prior authorization for treatment, and deny necessary services, disproportionately affecting those with complex health needs. This is not about “choice,” as the administration cynically claims. The inevitable effect will be to steer seniors into profit-making schemes masquerading as public policy.
Trump’s destruction of Medicare: An update
Over the last three months in particular the scale and intensity of the assault on Medicare have plumbed new depths.
www.wsws.org
comrade stalin
moscow
