Trump and Biden: Main differences regarding Medicare and Social Security

With the election year in full bloom, everybody is weighing which candidate should be the best choice. At this point, it’s crucial to pay attention to the little details that have a huge impact on our lives, which are Medicare and Social Security, and what both Trump and Biden have to say regarding this matter.

According to a recent debate, they both hold different opinions about Social Security’s future. Trump suggested that entitlements would be reduced, while Biden released a budget blueprint for 2025 that says no benefits will be decreased.

If Congress does not take action, Social Security and Medicare will have to reduce benefits over the next ten years due to financial shortages. The program’s trustees predicted last year that Social Security’s combined reserves would run out in 2034, at which point 80% of payouts may be payable. Medicare Part A is covered by the Medicare hospital insurance fund, which could run out in 2031.

Now, without further ado and being 100% impartial regarding politics, let’s see the key differences between Trump and Biden regarding Medicare and Social Security:

Biden pledges to stop cuts to Social Security and Medicare

When former president Donald Trump hinted that, if re-elected, he might eliminate “entitlements” like Medicare and social security, Joe Biden quickly responded, stating, “Not on my watch.” The delicate subject of Medicare and Social Security issues impacts the nation as a whole, and in his recent talk, Biden went into further details.

Republicans want to offer greater tax breaks for the rich by cutting Medicare and Social Security. Rather than providing tax benefits to the affluent, he plans to safeguard and strengthen Medicare and Social Security while requiring the wealthiest to start contributing fairly.

Biden wants to lower the cost of prescription drugs

Biden has consistently stated his support for Medicare’s direct medication pricing negotiations with pharmaceutical firms, a move that will lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare enrollees. This idea is a part of larger initiatives to bring down American healthcare prices, which are now increasing and beyond the means of many Americans.

But on the other hand, you’ll probably remember that last year in a video conference Trump also pledged to carry out his earlier executive order (if elected), guaranteeing that the US government will pay the same amount for drugs as other industrialized nations. Biden reversed several of the previous president’s pharmaceutical policies.

Biden is against the privatization of Social Security

Biden has stated that he is against attempts to privatize Social Security or to reduce payouts drastically. He has underlined how important it is to keep Social Security intact for both present and future generations.

…psst! Even if Medicare should be easy to understand, especially if you’re a citizen, things don’t always work in our favor. And it’s totally okay!

If you’re also struggling to keep up with every single update about this topic, and before the elections you want to be 100% sure of how the system works, we recommend checking out MEDICARE: An Easy-To-Understand Guide, available on Amazon for just $9.95. 

Biden also made proposals for benefit increases

This is another key difference between Trump and Biden because while Trump opened the door to cuts regarding Social Security, President Biden wants to increase benefits for people, especially those who have disabilities, widows and widowers, seniors, and those with very low incomes.

To improve benefit accessibility, the president also suggests raising the Social Security Administration’s budget. This includes $15.4 billion for agency operations, an increase of over 9% over funding for the agency’s fiscal year 2023.

Democrats on Capitol Hill, like Biden, have put up legislation to increase taxes on the rich while enhancing benefits. A budget that asks for a bipartisan panel to assess the fiscal problems with Social Security and Medicare was passed by House Republicans last week. Now, let’s see a couple of key differences regarding Trump’s promises during the electoral campaign.

Trump won’t make any major structural changes regarding Social Security

The Social Security program did not see any major structural changes under the Trump administration. To guarantee the program’s long-term viability, however, adjustments such as increasing the retirement age or changing benefit computations were discussed.

Trump wants to repeal and replace ACA

This is another difference between Trump and Biden, because throughout his administration, Trump and Congress, which is controlled by Republicans, tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. These attempts faced obstacles and finally failed to pass Congress.

Additionally, he declared that his first objective would be to provide for the American people far superior healthcare than Obamacare. Moreover, he said that health is the most important thing even more important than money. The healthcare plans available in America will be among the best in the world because right now they’re the worst.

Trump made several pledges, but he never unveiled his own Obamacare substitute. Furthermore, the Biden administration has undone a large portion of what the Trump administration has accomplished in the field of health care.

Trump has a proposal for disability benefit reform

During his time as a President, Trump and the administration have talked about strengthening eligibility requirements and stepping up beneficiary monitoring to combat fraud when it comes to disability benefits reform.

Trump’s promises regarding Medicaid

Although during his campaign, Donald Trump, a first-time candidate, promised not to eliminate well-known entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, his administration has not followed through on that commitment.

Medicaid would have seen significant losses as a result of the 2017 legislation that Trump backed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and his Department of Health and Human Services later urged states to require Medicaid participants to demonstrate their employment to obtain health insurance.

Besides all these differences in promises regarding the election campaign, a few more that have nothing to do with the health topic are interesting to dive into. For example, Biden said that they will create 1 million jobs in the auto industry, which will guarantee an increase in employment. He also said to “forgive” student loan debt, but the promise remains in the works.

Additionally, he put up a plan at the start of his presidency that would have given millions of illegal immigrants in the country a route to citizenship. We will see how many of these promises will be applicable and if they will be applicable if he is elected again.

Trump’s promises, on the other hand, seem to be more far-fetched, yet he still has supporters all around the nation. He promised that he would invade Mexico to take out drug labs, and this is something that he said at the start of his presidency, but he never let go of it. Trump also said that he would round up and deport undocumented immigrants. These are some terrifying proposals, we will see what’s going to happen…

Bottom line:

Without trying to influence people’s opinions regarding voting and such, the Biden administration focused on strengthening the ACA, lowering prescription drug costs, expanding Medicaid, and safeguarding and strengthening Social Security, while the Trump administration concentrated on efforts to repeal and replace the ACA, expand Medicare Advantage, and lower prescription drug prices.

Even if the two administrations’ approaches to policy differ, they have both attempted to address problems with social security and healthcare that affect Americans.

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Barry