The White House announced plans Friday night to send $90 payments to more than 20 million older Americans, with President Donald Trump tying the initiative to his broader push to lower health care costs.
The money would be drawn from about $2 billion set aside to improve Medicare’s hospital and medical insurance programs, which has not been used for that purpose since the initiative’s inception in 2008, administration officials said Saturday. Both parties have used the money, held in the Medicare Improvement Fund, in congressional budget maneuvers.
“We are finally using this Fund, along with my Most Favored Nations Deals, to substantially LOWER costs for our Seniors,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday night, also mentioning his initiative to lower U.S. drug prices.
The payments will be sent to most Medicare Part B enrollees, with many of them receiving a $90 direct deposit this month, the White House said. Others will receive a check sent to the address on file with Medicare.
Trump’s announcement follows his other pledges to send money to Americans ahead of November’s midterm elections, including his plan to send $500 Affordable Care Act refund checks to nearly 1 million people in 30 states. The administration began sending those checks this week, alongside a letter touting his record.
Democrats have called the moves a stunt and questioned the legality of dipping into government accounts to send payments to Americans.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 3, 2026
The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the Medicare Improvement Fund, did not immediately respond to questions about the administration’s legal authority to issue the payments.
Trump’s announcement caught congressional offices in both parties by surprise, according to three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.
Trump has floated multiple proposals to send dividends to Americans during his second term, but some of them have not materialized. In February 2025, he said his administration was considering a proposal to give 20 percent of savings from the controversial DOGE government cost-cutting effort to Americans. That proposal would have delivered roughly $5,000 to each of the roughly 79 million households in which residents pay federal income tax.
The president said Friday night that the $90 payments were proof that he would follow through with his pledge to send a $5,000 dividend to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections — a pledge that has raised broad questions about its legality and funding.
“Because I delivered on this very important issue for the American People, they can also rest assured the highly popular $5,000 Trump Dividend will be distributed to every U.S. Citizen if, and when, the Republicans win the Midterm Elections!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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