Why is Medicare sending $90 checks?
Some eligible Medicare beneficiaries will receive a one-time rebate.
Starting this week, the Trump administration will send one-time $90 rebates to Medicare beneficiaries who qualify.
The administration, using money from the Medicare Improvement Fund, will send rebates to seniors enrolled in Medicare Part B. Around 20.8 million people are expected to receive rebates, which are being issued via direct deposit from the Social Security Administration.
Who qualifies for the rebate?
To qualify for the rebate, enrollees must be participating in Medicare Part B.
Medicare is made up of several parts that provide different aspects of health insurance coverage:
- Part A, or hospital insurance: Covers hospital and other inpatient care.
- Part B, or medical insurance: Covers outpatient care and doctor visits.
- Part D: Prescription drug coverage.
Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage, are Medicare-approved and federally funded health plans that are available through private companies. They are an alternative to Original Medicare.
Medicare Part C funding is not counted separately from Parts A, B, and D.
How many people will get the Medicare rebate?
Around 20.8 million people are expected to get the one-time $90 rebate. In 2025, around 63.4 million people were enrolled in Medicare Part B. Why the difference?
To receive the rebate, a Part B enrollee must:
- Live in the US
- Not currently receive premium assistance from Medicaid
- Not currently pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount or IRMAA. In other words, people who earned over $109,000 in adjusted gross income wouldn’t be eligible.
- Not be a Medicare Advantage/Part C enrollee, even if the plan includes Part B-equivalent coverage.
In 2025, around 35.3 million people were Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in private health plans, most of which were Medicare Advantage plans. Under the eligibility rules, people in these plans would not receive the rebate.
In 2025, 63.4 million people were enrolled in Medicare Part B.
Medicare enrollment by Part, 1967–2025
How much do monthly Part B premiums cost?
Premiums for 2026 Part B coverage depend on several factors, like an individual’s gross income based on their tax return, whether they have full or partial Part B coverage, marital status, beneficiary status, and more.
Because of this, 2026 monthly premiums for full Part B coverage range from $202.90 for someone with an adjusted gross income of $109,000 or less to $689.90 for someone with an adjusted gross income of $500,000 or more.
How much does the government spend on Part B?
In 2025, the federal government spent about $1.21 trillion on Medicare. Part B accounted for $584.3 billion, or 48.3% of Medicare spending that year. That was the largest share of all Medicare plans.
In 2025, Part B accounted for the largest share of Medicare spending.
Medicare spending (all parts), inflation-adjusted
The $90 rebates, if sent to approximately 20.8 million people, will amount to around $1.87 billion spending in 2026.
How are the rebates funded?
The administration is funding rebates through the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pool of money Congress set aside to pay for improvements to the original, fee-for-service Medicare program (Parts A and B).
What is Medicare?
Medicare, run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), provides health insurance coverage primarily for people 65 and older. It is also available to some people who have a disability, end-stage renal disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).
In FY 2025, Medicare was the second-largest federal program, based on spending. That same year, around one fifth of US residents had Medicare coverage.
In 2025, 20.3% of US residents had Medicare coverage.
Medicare enrollment as a share of the total population
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Steve Ballmer explains the American healthcare system
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