"Privatized Medicare plans are denying patients the care they need, while defrauding the government of billions a year," said one advocacy group. "Donald Trump is giving them even more taxpayer money."

Summary:

The federal agency now headed by former television host Mehmet Oz announced Monday that it is substantially boosting payments to privately run Medicare Advantage plans, a boon for an industry notorious for overcharging taxpayers and denying patients necessary care.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said it is jacking up payments to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans by more than 5% for 2026—an increase of over $25 billion. That’s more than double the increase proposed by the Biden administration.

Health insurance company stocks jumped in response to the news of the Trump administration’s payment hike, with shares of UnitedHealth Group—the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans—rising more than 6% following the CMS statement.

Oz, whom the Republican-controlled Senate confirmed in a party-line vote last week, previously reported holding tens of millions of dollars worth of stock in companies with interests before CMS, including UnitedHealth.

Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group that campaigns against Medicare Advantage, said Monday that “privatized Medicare plans are denying patients the care they need, while defrauding the government of billions a year.”

“Trump is giving them even more taxpayer money,” the group wrote on social media. “Trump-Musk don’t care about ‘efficiency.’ They care about stealing our money.”