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Trump puts Biden on defense for Medicare Advantage cuts

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Trump puts Biden on defense for Medicare Advantage cuts

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Medicare benefits have emerged as an election hot topic, putting President Biden in a likely precarious situation with senior voters after slashing the popular Medicare Advantage program’s benefits ahead of the election. 

“I will not cut one penny from Social Security or Medicare, which Joe Biden is destroying by letting millions of people come into our country. He’s destroying Medicare and Social Security,” Trump said during his rally on Temple University’s campus in Philadelphia last weekend, setting the stage for ongoing attacks against his 2024 competitor. 

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“Joe Biden has cut Medicare Advantage for the last two years. Did you know that? He’s cut your Medicare Advantage, which is a total betrayal of seniors. And just check, you’ll see it. He has cut you down for two years straight.”

Medicare was cited again during the first presidential debate of the election cycle on Thursday, where Biden’s disastrous performance included him saying, “We finally beat Medicare” as he stumbled over his words. 

“He’s right, he did beat Medicare, beat it to death,” Trump fired back. “And he’s destroying Medicare because of all these people are coming in, they’re putting them on Medicare, they’re putting them on Social Security.”

BIDEN ADMIN THREATENING YOUR MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN. HERE’S WHAT THEY’RE NOT TELLING YOU

Former President Trump called out President Biden for claiming he was at Ground Zero following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. Trump visited the site in New York City days after the Twin Towers were struck.    (Getty Images )

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Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, specifically, are private health insurance plans that contract with Medicare, and are used by more than 33 million Americans. The program mostly enrolls adults over the age of 65, but also offers benefits to people of all ages with disabilities. Traditional Medicare, conversely, is a federal health insurance program for adults over the age of 65, as well as younger individuals with disabilities. 

BIDEN HOPES SENIORS WON’T NOTICE THIS CUT IN THEIR BENEFITS BEFORE THE ELECTION

The Biden administration in April finalized plans to cut MA benefits, which experts said could lead to an additional $33 a month for out-of-pocket costs, or $396 a year, for enrollees. Critics of the cuts said they would be especially devastating to seniors living on fixed incomes who are already coping with ongoing inflation issues. 

Fox News Digital spoke to a former nurse, Republican New York congresswoman, and Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Ann Marie Buerkle, who said the cuts could prove devastating for the Biden administration, as the 46th president hits this election cycle’s fever pitch. 

HEALTH CARE COSTS UP TO 300% HIGHER FOR PRIVATELY INSURED PATIENTS THAN THOSE WITH MEDICARE, REPORT REVEALS

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“By letting far-left socialists control his policy agenda, Biden made a huge blunder that will jeopardize his support from the 33 million Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans who will see their premiums go up, co-pays increase, and benefits decline before November,” said Buerkle.

Joe Biden Medicare event in Florida

President Biden speaks about his administration’s plans to protect Social Security and Medicare and lower health care costs, Feb. 9, 2023, at the University of Tampa in Florida. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The cuts come as the left-wing faction of Congress continues promoting “Medicare-for-all” legislation, which would establish a universal single-payer national health insurance system. Buerkle said the Biden administration’s cuts this year “actively sabotage MA,” likely in a backdoor attempt to promote a government-focused system, such as “Medicare-for-all.” 

“Far left ideologues like Elizabeth Warren hate Medicare Advantage’s success as a public-private partnership because it undermines their argument for government-run health care, aka ‘Medicare-for-all.’ Biden has let these far left ideologues in his administration actively sabotage MA so they can prop up a government-run model and achieve their socialist agenda,” she said. 

The sentiment was echoed in an op-ed published by Fox News Digital in May, by Heritage Action executive vice president Ryan Walker.  

REPUBLICANS WARM TO SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE REFORM AS 2024 ELECTION NEARS

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“Biden and his allies want to cut MA in favor of more government-run, fee-for-service  ‘Medicare-for-all’ – which would mean fewer options for physicians and coverage, like vision and hearing. Recently, progressive ringleader Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and a coalition of 59 far-left House Democrats sent a letter to Biden arguing for ‘strengthening Traditional Medicare’ and redirecting funds ‘incorrectly going to MA,’” Walker wrote. 

Medicare card

The Biden administration pushed back that “any claim that this Administration is cutting Medicare is categorically false” and “disinformation,” adding that “protecting Medicare is a key priority for President Biden and one of our highest priorities at HHS.”

“This is cherry picking numbers. Under the rate announcement, payments to Medicare Advantage plans are expected to increase by 3.7% next year, equivalent to over $16 billion. A $16 billion increase is not a cut,” the White House told Fox News Digital. 

“Leave it to deep-pocketed insurance companies and industry front groups to characterize this year’s increase in Medicare Advantage payments as a cut. Disinformation being pushed out by high-paid industry hacks and their allies hurt Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare Trust Fund.”

The administration added that it proposed a 1% increase in payments to insurance companies that provide Medicare Advantage order to “ensure they are accurately and appropriately compensated for covering the services their enrollees receive.” 

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“Like the 1% percent increase in payments that we are proposing for 2024, recovering overpayments from insurance companies is not a cut in payments – any such claim is categorically false.”

joe biden on the debate stage

President Biden during the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections between himself and former President Trump in Atlanta on Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Liles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Buerkle previously wrote in an op-ed this year that Medicare benefits could be a “winning issue for Republicans,” citing that the states that voted for Trump in 2016, but switched to Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – are home to a majority of seniors who get their health care through MA. 

“51% of Medicare-eligible Americans choose MA, and that number grows each year. Nearly all of them self-report satisfaction with the program. So, for 51% of seniors, Medicare Advantage is Medicare, so cuts to the program equate to cuts to Medicare. Trump understands that increasing health care costs for society’s most vulnerable population before an election is a stupendously dumb idea. Other Republicans should follow his lead,” Buerkle told Fox News Digital. 

The MA plans are overwhelmingly supported by those enrolled, with a 2021 analysis finding 90% of enrollees reporting they are satisfied with the plan. Biden had also vowed during his State of the Union address in March that he would protect Social Security and Medicare from any cuts. 

BIDEN CLAIMS HIS DEBATE PERFORMANCE WON OVER ‘MORE UNDECIDED VOTERS THAN TRUMP’ AT NJ FUNDRAISER

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“Tonight, let’s all agree once again to stand up for seniors. Many of my friends on the other side of the aisle want to put Social Security on the chopping block. If anyone here tries to cut Social Security or Medicare or raise the retirement age, I will stop you,” Biden said during the State of the Union. 

Donald Trump

“I will not cut one penny from Social Security or Medicare,” former President Trump has said. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Not only will these cuts increase out-of-pocket costs for seniors enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans by an average of $396 next year, cutting Medicare Advantage hurts Medicare solvency, too, since it’s less costly to the federal government compared to original Medicare and studies have shown that Medicare Advantage could help extend Medicare solvency by 17 years. MA delivers the same benefits as original Medicare for just 83 cents on the dollar,” Buerkle added. 

THE NEW YORKER EDITOR CALLS FOR BIDEN TO STEP DOWN AFTER ‘ANTAGONIZING’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

The cuts have faced no shortage of condemnation from Republicans and conservatives, who sounded off in April that seniors on fixed incomes would suffer further financial strains. 

President Biden

President Biden speaks during a campaign event in Philadelphia on April 18, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“America’s seniors are among the most vulnerable people in our society. Most live on a fixed income – Biden’s inflation has been a baked-in tax to everything they purchase. Now, he’s raising the price of the advantage plan – a plan that millions of seniors rely on,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz posted on X. “This is unacceptable.”

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DOCTORS EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT BIDEN’S APPARENT COGNITIVE ISSUES DURING DEBATE: ‘TROUBLING INDICATORS’

“President Trump delivered on his promise to protect Social Security and Medicare in his first term, and President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. 

BIDEN DEBATE DEBACLE: 10 EYE-OPENING MEDIA RESPONSES, FROM MSNBC PANIC TO ‘THE VIEW’ CALLING FOR REPLACEMENT

“The only candidate who poses a threat to Social Security and Medicare is Joe Biden–whose mass invasion of countless millions of illegal aliens will, if they are allowed to stay, cause Social Security and Medicare to buckle and collapse. By unleashing American energy, slashing job-killing regulations, and adopting pro-growth America First tax and trade policies, President Trump will quickly rebuild the greatest economy in history and put Social Security and Medicare on a stronger footing for generations to come.”

Axios reported earlier this year that Biden administration officials believed benefits for enrollees would remain stable through next year. Researchers, however, said the Biden campaign was taking a gamble with the cuts ahead of the election. 

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“President Biden’s team is gambling that MA beneficiaries won’t realize before the election the benefits Biden’s team is causing them to lose come January 2025,” Raymond James analyst Chris Meekins told the outlet. 

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Biden campaign spotlights massive June fundraising haul in 2024 election rematch with Trump

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Biden campaign spotlights massive June fundraising haul in 2024 election rematch with Trump

President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee combined brought in over a quarter of a billion dollars in fundraising the past three months, Biden’s team announced early Tuesday.

And the campaign, in showcasing the $264 million raked in during the April-June second quarter of 2024 fundraising, noted that it pulled in $127 million in June alone, which it touted was the president’s best month of fundraising since he launched his re-election bid over a year ago.

The announcement comes as the Biden campaign tries to flip the script on a negative narrative coming out of last week’s first debate with former President Trump.

Biden’s June fundraising was up from the roughly $85 million the campaign and the DNC brought in during May. And the campaign spotlighted that their second quarter haul was $75 million more than they brought in during the first three months of the year.

BIDEN TRIES TO FLIP THE SCRIPT ON DISASTROUS NARRATIVE COMING OUT OF FIRST DEBATE

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President Joe Biden reacts after speaking at a campaign rally in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, June. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley) (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

They also touted that they had a whopping $240 million cash-on-hand as of the end of June, up from $212 million a month earlier.

A sizable chunk of June’s haul was raked in at a star-studded fundraiser in Los Angeles with former President Obama, Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and late night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The campaign said after the event that it set a new Democratic Party fundraising record with a $30 million haul. 

DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION OF BIDEN IN VIRTUAL ROLL CALL COULD COME AS EARLY AS THIS MONTH

The president also brought in over $8 million a few days later at a fundraiser at the Northern Virginia home of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, where Biden was also joined by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the Democrats’ 2016 standard-bearer.

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But boosting the June fundraising to higher heights was the $33 million the campaign says was raised last Thursday through Saturday, the day of the first presidential debate and the following two days. And the Biden campaign showcased that their single best hour of fundraising this cycle came during the 11pm to midnight eastern hour on Thursday, immediately after the end of the debate with Trump in Atlanta, Georgia.

trump and biden

President Joe Biden (right) and former President Donald Trump participate in their first of two 2024 general election debates, on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Biden campaign has been spotlighting its pre- and post-debate fundraising as it aims to alter the brutal conversation coming out of last week’s showdown. This, after the 81-year-old president’s halting delivery and stumbling answers at the debate sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers, and some party politicians and donors, for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 nominee.

The campaign also showcased its grassroots appeal, noting that nearly two-thirds of June’s haul came from small-dollar donors and that more than $30 million of the $38 million raised during the final few days of the month came from grassroots contributors.

“Our Q2 fundraising haul is a testament to the committed and growing base of supporters standing firmly behind the President and Vice President and clear evidence that our voters understand the choice in this election between President Biden fighting for the American people and Donald Trump fighting for himself as a convicted felon,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden in Raleigh, NC

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk off the stage after a campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on June 28, 2024. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

DNC chair Jaime Harrison noted that “grassroots donors across the country are chipping in every day because they know that this election will determine the course of history.”

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In announcing their May fundraising figures, the Biden campaign waited until June 20, the final day the presidential campaigns had to file their monthly fundraising figures with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

But when it came to announcing their June and second quarter figures, the Biden campaign wasted no time in showcasing their numbers, announcing them just two days after the fundraising period ended.

Biden and the DNC enjoyed a large fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. But Trump and the RNC topped Biden and the DNC in fundraising for the first time in April.

And in May, the Trump campaign and the RNC, fueled in part by a fundraising surge following the former president’s history-making guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, combined hauled in a stunning $141 million, easily besting Biden and the DNC.

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Former President Donald Trump walks offstage after giving remarks at a rally at Greenbrier Farms on June 28, 2024, in Chesapeake, Virginia.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Trump campaign has until later this month to file its fundraising figures with the FEC and has yet to announce its June and second quarter hauls.

Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of a candidate and their campaign. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things.

The Biden campaign has been using its funds to build up what appears to be a very formidable ground operation in the key battleground states and announced two weeks ago that they had hired their 1,000th staffer and had opened over 200 coordinated offices in the swing states. The Biden campaign enjoys a large organizational advantage over the Trump campaign when it comes to grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote ground game efforts in the states that will likely decide the outcome of the election rematch.

“Team Biden-Harris grew its historic war chest while also significantly expanding its footprint and operations both in HQ and across the key states – the resources needed to win a close election,” the campaign highlighted in a release.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Biden denounces immunity ruling amid Democrats' doubts that he can beat Trump

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Biden denounces immunity ruling amid Democrats' doubts that he can beat Trump

Monday’s Supreme Court decision giving Donald Trump immunity for past and potentially future presidential acts gave Democrats more urgency to defeat him, just as new polling showed that last week’s debate intensified voters’ concerns that President Biden may not be the man to do it.

The dueling pieces of news underscored the conundrum the party has been staring down for months: Evidence that Trump will have unchecked power in a potential second term energizes the Democratic base. But the increasingly high import of the election makes the choice to stick with Biden appear all the more risky.

“You can’t afford to lose,” said Mark Buell, an influential Bay Area Democratic donor and fundraiser. “In either case, you’re still down to the risk assessment of who has a better chance — another candidate or Biden?”

In a brief televised address at the White House on Monday night, Biden said the Supreme Court decision on immunity meant “there are virtually no limits” on a president’s actions. “This is a fundamentally new principle. And it’s a dangerous precedent.”

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He said the public had a “right to know” Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, though a trial probably will not take place before the November election.

“I know I will respect the limits of presidential power as I have for the 3½ years, but any president, including Donald Trump, will now be free to ignore the law,” he said.

In denouncing the 6-3 decision, Biden concluded by saying, “May God preserve our democracy.”

Mark Gonzalez, the recently departed Los Angeles County Democratic Party chair and California state director for Biden’s 2020 campaign, said he spent the weekend calming nerves of fellow Democrats. The ruling Monday only reaffirmed the stakes to people who were concerned about Biden’s fitness for the job and poor political standing, he said. A CBS poll released Sunday showed a growing share of voters — 72% — say Biden does not have the cognitive ability to serve as president, compared with 49% who say that about Trump.

“The reality is that, whether they’re a delegate or an activist or a $5 donor, they’re afraid,” Gonzalez said of the people he spoke with over the weekend. “They are scared that we need a stronger person to represent the Democratic Party so that we can prevail in November.”

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Gonzalez said Monday “is a good reminder that we need to be able to … be prepared, and know that the other side is going to do everything that they can to take us down. We cannot afford to lose democracy because of mistakes at this one debate.”

The Biden campaign scheduled a media call within minutes of Monday’s ruling in hopes of shifting attention from the president’s poor debate performance on Thursday to Trump, whom they characterized as a singular threat to democracy. The ruling that he could not face prosecution for official acts would only embolden him to carry out threats to prosecute enemies and act like a dictator on his first day in office if he wins a second term, officials argued.

“This is not a drill,” said Harry Dunn, a police officer who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 and has become a surrogate for Democrats. “Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to the United States of America in a generation. We can’t let him anywhere near the Oval Office again.”

Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for Biden-Harris 2024, pointed to a new Jan. 6-focused advertisement the campaign released Monday and to heightened efforts to organize volunteers in battleground states.

But many Democrats have urged the president to appear at more rallies and give more adversarial media interviews to demonstrate his vitality. Fulks, asked during the call whether Biden had any plans to increase his public engagement schedule with town halls and other unscripted encounters, said he had no changes to announce.

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A USA Today poll conducted Friday through Sunday found 54% of registered voters want Biden to be replaced as the nominee, compared with 37% who want him on the ballot. For Trump, the split was 51% to 46% in favor of removing him from the ballot, despite Trump’s record as a convicted felon who remains unwilling to concede that he lost the 2020 election.

Trump, 78, had stronger support within his own party than Biden, 81, did in his. The best news for Biden is that the question was a virtual tie among independent voters — with 64% saying they wanted Biden replaced and 63% wanting Trump replaced.

Despite growing concerns among allies, Biden has shown no signs he is willing to step aside and party rules would make it almost impossible to remove him from the ballot without his consent. A source familiar with a weekend Biden family summit held at Camp David confirmed reporting that the president’s family is determined that he remain in the race, calling it “a united front.”

Buell, who has been vocal about the need to assess swing state polls in the coming days, believes there is still a chance Biden would agree to withdraw if the data suggest it’s the best way to defeat Trump.

“The people around Biden, they may privately see it that way, but publicly of course they’re all singing the song that he’s fine,” Buell said. “And I think they have to until such time as he says he wants to pull the plug.”

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Still, some of the party faithful are undaunted. Susan Reina, an activist in the Antelope Valley who oversees voter registration efforts in a competitive congressional district, said it was essential to remind voters that it comes down to a binary choice. Division within the Democratic Party plays into the hands of Republicans who have circled the wagons around Trump, she said.

Monday’s court decision gave Trump yet another political advantage. It all but guaranteed delay past November of Trump’s trial on accusations that he and his political associates worked to subvert the 2020 election.

For Reina and others, this means that beating the former president at the ballot box is even more essential “so that we in this country have the freedoms that we have today.”

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press. Bierman reported from Washington, Oreskes from Los Angeles.

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Video: Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision Sets ‘Dangerous Precedent,’ Biden Says

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Video: Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision Sets ‘Dangerous Precedent,’ Biden Says

new video loaded: Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision Sets ‘Dangerous Precedent,’ Biden Says

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Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision Sets ‘Dangerous Precedent,’ Biden Says

President Biden spoke after the Supreme Court’s ruling that former President Donald J. Trump is entitled to substantial immunity from prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election.

No one, no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States. But today’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, that fundamentally changed. For all, for all practical purposes, today’s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what the president can do. This is a fundamentally new principle and it’s a dangerous precedent, because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law, even including the Supreme Court of the United States. The only limits will be self imposed by the president alone. Now, the American people will have to do what the courts should have been willing to do, but would not. The American people have to render a judgment about Donald Trump’s behavior. The American people must decide, do they want to entrust the president once again — the presidency — to Donald Trump now knowing he’ll be even more emboldened to do whatever he pleases whenever he wants to do it.

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