Trump Super PAC sent out fake Medicare cancellation notices to scare voters about Kamala Harris – Mother Jones

In ArizonaElderly people recently received a mailer saying that Medicare was being eliminated. It had a large red stamp on it that said “Medicare Cancellation Notice.” Also emblazoned on the front was: “Caution: Prices are increasing and plans are being canceled.” Details are included.” The return address was “Department of Medicare Cancellation, Kamala Harris Administration.”

That return address should have been a clue that it wasn’t an official notification – along with a scribbled addition in cursive: “I hope you can afford to lose your insurance!” – Kamala Harris XOXO.”

It’s hard to say whether any recipient saw this and felt shocked, fearing their Medicare benefits would be eliminated. But the group that sent out this official-looking piece of campaign literature, Make America Great Again, Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, spread false and misleading information about Medicare and about Harris.

The back of the notice said Harris was “destroying Medicare.” It said that Medicare premiums have skyrocketed thanks to Harris and that she has “a new plan that would completely liquidate the Medicare funds,” adding, “All the money you have paid into Medicare , will be gone.” It said dramatically: “Your care [will be] cancelled.”

None of this is true. Medicare premiums are not going up. For example, the standard monthly premium for Part B increased from $164.90 in 2023 to $174.70 this year. Harris does not have a “new” plan to “completely liquidate Medicare funds.” She recently proposed expanding Medicare to include long-term home health care, saying the program would be funded by negotiating lower drug prices. She also called for expanding Medicare to cover hearing and vision services.

The MAGA, Inc. mailer contained footnotes that appeared to support the outlandish allegations. But they were vague and misleading. They seemed to point to references from years ago, when Harris was a supporter of Medicare for All, which is no longer part of her political agenda.

MAGA, Inc. is the top pro-Trump super PAC. The 2024 campaign has raised more than $300 million, most of it from Republican billionaires including Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald; Paul Singer, a hedge fund manager; Charles Kushner, the father of Jared Kushner and a real estate tycoon who went to prison for tax evasion and retaliation against a federal witness (and whom Trump pardoned); and Timothy Mellon, the reclusive heir to the Mellon banking fortune, who deposited over $150 million. (Mellon also donated $25 million to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s failed presidential campaign.) MAGA, Inc. plans to spend at least $100 million on ads promoting Harris as “the best,” according to a memo released this summer. portraying the most radical liberal ever to run for president.”

MAGA, Inc. has been a major player in Trumpworld since its founding in 2022. Its first acting director was Taylor Budowich, a former Trump White House adviser who refused to cooperate with the House committee on January 6 and who testified before the grand jury investigating Trump’s alleged theft of classified documents. He joined the Trump campaign in August. Other staffers included Steve Cheung, now the Trump campaign’s combative spokesman, and Chris LaCivita, co-manager of Trump’s current presidential bid.

Medicare is often a hot topic during a presidential campaign, particularly because seniors tend to vote at high turnout rates. Harris’ campaign touts her successes on Medicare, pointing out that the Biden-Harris administration has capped out-of-pocket costs for Medicare recipients and capped insulin costs for recipients at $35 per month. It also gave Medicare the authority to negotiate lower prescription drug costs. And Medicare’s ability to pay improved during the Biden years.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump has repeatedly vowed not to cut Social Security or Medicare, although he said in an interview in March, “There’s a lot you can do as far as entitlements and cuts go.” (When he was president, Trump proposed cuts Medicare.) Tax experts have found that Trump’s proposal to exempt taxes on Social Security would cause Social Security and Medicare to lose $1.6 trillion in revenue over the next decade and both fall more quickly would push for bankruptcy. (Project 2025 — which Trump has tried to distance himself from — calls for changes to Medicare that would enroll more beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurance companies, and according to… AssetsThis could increase financial pressure on Medicare.)

Mother Jones contacted MAGA, Inc. and asked whether the super PAC intended the mailing to look like an official notice and whether it was concerned that a recipient might initially be frightened because they believe their Medicare coverage has been canceled. There was no response.

Mailers often convey the most bizarre political attacks. Yet they typically receive little media attention and routinely escape fact-checking and refutation. (As I recently reported, Jewish Republicans in Michigan sent out campaign literature accusing Harris, whose husband is Jewish, of being bad for Jews.) So it’s unlikely that the seniors who saw this fake notice were in the claims that Medicare has been closed, they subsequently receive a counter stating that Medicare has not been eliminated and will not be destroyed by Harris.

Political campaigns can be a nasty business. But there’s something particularly vile about billionaires trying to intimidate Medicare recipients with fake news to convince them to vote for a man who has proposed Medicare cuts and will shower big tax breaks on the rich. But for them, this must be a solid investment.