Scoop: Rep. Kevin Hern blasts Biden’s “monstrous damage” to Medicare Advantage: “It's irresponsible, shameful, and just downright immoral”
“Biden spent his entire time in office pointing the finger at Republicans, at me, for wanting to fix Medicare and expand popular programs like Medicare Advantage,” Hern told us...
Joe Biden’s administration is spending its final days attempting to devastate senior citizens months before the 2026 midterm elections, health care policy experts warn — and Rep. Kevin Hern (R., Okla.) is blasting the president before he leaves office for his “downright immoral” last-minute regulations.
The Biden administration proposed to underfund the Medicare Advantage program, which could jeopardize health care for millions of seniors, health policy experts told the Reporter.
“Biden spent his entire time in office pointing the finger at Republicans, at me, for wanting to fix Medicare and expand popular programs like Medicare Advantage,” Hern, the number five House Republican, told the Washington Reporter. “All the while, he's the one doing monstrous damage, slashing these critical programs that seniors need. This latest move should be no surprise, Biden's trying to do as much damage as possible on his way out of the White House. It's irresponsible, shameful, and just downright immoral.”
Biden’s proposed 2.23 percent rates for Medicare Advantage are lower than the current rate of inflation; the consumer price index year-over-year trend is currently 2.7 percent. The latest measures follow two years of back-to-back cuts to the popular program. President Donald Trump, for his part, blasted President Joe Biden on the campaign trail for “cut[ting] Medicare Advantage for the last two years.”
Biden’s Medicare Advantage rate hikes won’t take effect for over a year, saddling Trump with the blame for policies implemented by Biden. Mike Tuffin, the president of AHIP, noted that “1.3 million Americans are currently enrolled in MA general enrollment plans that will not be available to them in 2025, forcing these beneficiaries to change their Medicare coverage for 2025.”
Health care advocates are hopeful that the Trump administration will undo the latest last-minute Biden regulation and remove a potential electoral liability for Republicans.
