CBO Analysis Reveals $21 Billion Cost for Medicare Premium Stabilization

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a fiscal analysis of the Biden-Harris administration’s Medicare Part D Premium Stabilization Demonstration Program, estimating it could cost taxpayers over $21 billion over three years. The program, launched by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), aims to lower rising Medicare premiums for seniors, attributed to previous Democratic policies. GOP representatives criticized this program as a costly election year strategy to obscure the financial burdens placed on seniors by the Inflation Reduction Act. The CBO's report highlighted that the program's associated costs would significantly increase federal Medicare spending and may lead to further hikes in beneficiary premiums, ultimately passing financial responsibility to taxpayers. This comes amid broader scrutiny of changes made to Medicare under the Democrats, who significantly redesigned Medicare Part D at a high cost.