The Biden-Harris administration’s handling of health care policies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has resulted in the $266 billion diversion from Medicare to green energy – leading to a 21.5% increase in Part D premiums and a drastic reduction in available plans – according to an analysis by the Health Market and Policy Network, led by Joe Grogan, former domestic policy assistant under the Trump administration.
The administration’s intervention, including a $10 billion subsidy to insurers, is a temporary measure to mask the deeper issues created by these changes, the analysis sent to health care groups on Monday said.
The analysis, which comes just one day before the presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, also criticized the administration’s handling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans for allegedly enabling widespread fraud and costing billions, while cuts and stricter regulations have made it harder for seniors to access benefits.
HEALTH CARE IS ‘OVERWHELMINGLY COMPLEX’ FOR OLDER ADULTS, EXPERTS SAY: ‘EVER-INCREASING HURDLE’
Vice President Kamala Harris is embraced by President Biden during a campaign event at IBEW Local Union #5 on Sept. 2, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
“With a presidential debate looming and a quick sprint to Election Day, health care policy will be debated vigorously,” Grogan told Fox News Digital. “Because many in the legacy media have been all too eager to advance the Biden administration’s progressive narrative that only greater government control and more deficit spending will make America healthier, a more sober assessment of the Biden-Harris record is essential to help Americans understand the issues.”
“Our brief analysis reveals a series of failures in health care policy – catastrophically flawed legislation, counterproductive regulations, and an executive branch more committed to control than positive health care outcomes,” he added.
The analysis also states that the Biden-Harris administration “suppressed medical perspectives counter to their preferred narratives and censored dissident scientists.”
By boosting subsidies and offering free plans to people above the poverty line, they encouraged some to falsely claim low incomes, the report claimed. As a result, up to 5 million people were fraudulently enrolled, costing taxpayers $15 billion to $20 billion in 2024.
“Due to poor oversight of ACA brokers, reports broke this year of ACA plans being switched and of thousands of other Americans being enrolled in ACA-backed plans, all without their knowledge or consent,” the report states.
The Biden-Harris administration’s changes to Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have also reduced payments to insurers and made it harder for these plans to offer extra benefits for seniors. New restrictions and lower payments may lead to higher costs for beneficiaries and fewer benefits like dental and vision care, according to the report.
The administration also “prioritized radical identity politics over medical expertise,” according to the analysis, and in 2021, they offered extra pay to doctors who made plans to focus on race in their care. They also required brain research groups to include diversity goals in their funding applications.
The analysis says the Biden-Harris admin “suppressed medical perspectives counter to their preferred narratives and censored dissident scientists.” (iStock)
In a move critics say is designed to shield the Biden-Harris administration from election fallout, the administration also leveraged taxpayer funds to mask upcoming increases in Medicare premiums last month.
Under the IRA, which was intended to cap out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries, insurers are poised to significantly hike monthly premiums, with average bids for Part D plans expected to triple by 2025.
Americans are also dealing with a spike in the cost of prescription drugs, which has surged nearly 40% over the past decade, easily outstripping the pace of inflation.
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In response to potential voter backlash, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rolled out a three-year “demonstration project” to subsidize these premiums in August, aiming to keep them artificially low. However, despite the appearance of relief, some critics are saying that taxpayers will fund a dramatic increase in subsidies – from $30 per recipient per month in 2024 to $142.70 in 2025 – raising concerns about the long-term impact on government spending and debt.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back by publication deadline.
FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.