Biden-Harris admin probe urged over Medicare premium offset plan before election
Republicans have accused the administration of trying to mask premium increases
Mayorkas has a history of not being forthcoming: Sen. Rand Paul
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., discusses the second Trump assassination attempt, Hezbollah pager explosions in Lebanon and the impact of the presidential candidates' proposals on the U.S. economy.
A planned $5 billion Biden-Harris administration venture that would offset Medicare premium increases just before the presidential election may be a Hatch Act violation and should be investigated, according to a letter sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ) by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.
The Hatch Act prohibits political activity conducted in an official capacity.
"My colleagues and I are concerned that the Biden-Harris Administration is inappropriately using taxpayer funds to mask the defective Medicare Part D policies enacted as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 (P.L. 117-169)," Paul wrote to Corey Amundson, the Chief of the Public Integrity Section at the DOJ. "Given the IRA’s central role in the Biden-Harris Administration’s presidential campaign, these concerns warrant additional investigation."
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UNITED STATES - JUNE 1: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., talks with reporters in the U.S. Capitol as the Senate works on the debt limit bill on Thursday, June 1, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Paul noted that Medicare premiums significantly increased in 2023 following the IRA becoming law.
"Additionally, Medicare Part D premiums were expected to rise even higher this year when open enrollment begins in October," he wrote. "Yet, the Biden-Harris Administration very deliberately initiated a demonstration program to address rising costs for seniors only in an election year."
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MARYLAND, UNITED STATES - AUGUST 15: U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris attend event on Medicare drug price negotiations in Prince George's County in Maryland, United States on August 15, 2024. (Photo by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
In July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Services revealed a program to stabilize these rising premiums – reportedly at an estimated cost of $5 billion during the program's 3-year tenure.
"Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which is now driving up seniors’ health care premiums. Americans deserve to know if Biden and Harris are now illegally handing taxpayer funds to insurance companies in order to hide those premium increases right as seniors head to vote," the senator wrote on X.
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Both Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden – before he ended his campaign for re-election – have pointed to the IRA as a selling point to voters.
They aren't the only ones, either. Down-ballot Democrats tout their support for the bill on the campaign trail, too.
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President Joe Biden speaks about his plan to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare, as well as lower healthcare costs, at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida, on February 9, 2023. ((Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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The program would be expected to lower premium prices for Medicare just before the presidential election by injecting federal money into it.
Neither the White House nor the DOJ immediately provided comment to Fox News Digital.