Trump's $90 Medicare Checks Raise A Question Nobody Seems To Be Asking

Authored by David Manney via PJ Media,

President Donald Trump is sending well over 20 million Medicare enrollees $90 apiece, and plenty of recipients will understandably welcome the money. With the standard Medicare Part B premium at $202.90 a month this year, $90 isn't pocket change for someone living on Social Security.

From the White House:

• Payments will be made from the Medicare Improvement Fund, which has been given $2 billion by Congress for the purposes of making improvements to the Medicare fee-for-service program, but has never before been utilized.
• Most eligible seniors will receive the payment in the form a direct deposit of $90 in early October. Those without direct deposit will receive a check, also sent in early October, to the mailing address they have registered with Medicare.

The interesting question comes before the checks arrive. Congress created something called the Medicare Improvement Fund, and the law describing what the money can be used for doesn't specifically say anything about mailing cash directly to beneficiaries.

The statute gives the secretary of Health and Human S