WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he plans to send $90 check to more than 20 million seniors this month ‒ his latest financial giveaway government funds before the November midterm election.
The one-time payments are headed to most of the nation's seniors enrolled in Medicare B, spanning all 50 states, according to a White House breakdown of the payments reviewed by USA TODAY, with the most populated states receiving the most checks.
Individuals whose health care premiums are already paid by Medicaid or who pay an income-related monthly adjustment amount do not qualify for the $90, the White House said.
Trump has turned to sending cash directly to Americans as voters'
anxieties over high costs and affordability pose major midterm liabilities for Trump and Republicans to hold on to power in Congress.
More than 1.52 million seniors in California are set to receive checks, tops among all states, followed by Texas (1.43 million); Florida (1.40 million); New York (1.02 million); and Pennsylvania (905,000). Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota and South Dakota are each in line to receive fewer than 100,000 checks apiece for seniors.
Among some of the closely contested Senate battleground states, 539,000 seniors will receive checks in Michigan; 644,000 seniors in North Carolina; 568,000 in Georgia; 327,000 in Iowa; 748,000 in Ohio; 88,000 in Maine; and 293,000 in Kansas.
To fund the payments, the Trump administration is diverting money from the $2 billion Medicare Improvement Fund, which Congress created in 2008 to improve Medicare services. Trump called the fund a "pointless 'Slush Fund'" in a Truth Social post announcing the checks. The White House said the improvement fund has never been utilized.
For the majority of eligible seniors, the money will come via direct deposit in early October, the White House said. Seniors without direct deposit will receive a check at the address they listed when they registered for Medicare.
Trump's latest handout comes after his administration this week started sending $500 checks to nearly 1 million Americans across 30 states his administration says were overcharged by fees through the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange for buying health insurance. The checks include a letter signed by Trump alerting recipients to the money.
Trump has also vowed to distribute $5,000 dividend payments to all American adults if Republicans retain control of Congress during the November midterms ‒ an offer that Trump critics have slammed as a bribe for votes. Trump reaffirmed his financial commitment in a video posted Oct. 3.
Below is a state-by-state breakdown detailing where Trump's $90 checks for seniors are going, according to the White House:
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: See where Trump's $90 checks to 20 million seniors are going
