The White House announced that as part of his budget proposal, President Joe Biden intends to raise the Medicare tax for high-income earners and advocate for additional drug price negotiations to ensure the sustainability of the federal health insurance program until 2050. However, this proposal encountered resistance in Congress, where Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader of the Senate, stated that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives would not approve it.
According to a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday, March 7th, the proposed package of initiatives includes an increase in the Medicare tax from 3.8% to 5% for earned and unearned income above $400,000. This measure is intended to help extend the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by a minimum of 25 years.
As part of the ongoing negotiations over raising the United States $31.4 trillion debt limit, President Biden has attempted to implicate Republicans in potential cuts to the funding of the Medicare program for senior citizens and disabled individuals. While Democrats have control of the Senate, the Republicans hold a slim majority in the House.
President Biden has vowed to present his proposals for financing Medicare and has called on Republicans to present their own plans.
