Biden’s new tax plan hopes to save Medicare

JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) - President Joe Biden says the wealthy should pay more in taxes to fund Medicare.

Biden proposed new taxes for individuals making more than $400,000 per year on Tuesday, March 7.

According to Biden’s Tuesday essay in The New York Times, this plan would help extend the insurance program’s solvency by 25 years and provide a degree of middle-class stability to millions of geriatrics.

He wants to increase the Medicare tax rate from 3.8% to 5%

The president also wants to expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug costs, which began with the Inflation Reduction Act he signed on Aug. 16, 2022.

“We are going to continue to work with pharmaceutical manufacturers and other stakeholders to make sure Americans see lower costs in prescription drugs and can afford life-saving medication,” said Christen Linke Young, deputy assistant for health and veterans affairs

Taxpayers pay roughly $900 billion every year to fund more than 65 million people on Medicare. Biden expects continued growth from Medicare enrollees as the U.S. population ages.

The White House has yet to provide any specific cost-saving estimates, but Biden’s new plan will likely increase tax revenues by more than $117 billion over the next 10 years.

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