Every day, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) is turning up new, outrageous government spending. Whether it’s the old limestone mine in Pennsylvania full of federal workers’ retirement paperwork or FEMA doling out tens of millions to house illegal immigrants in luxury New York City hotel rooms, there’s seemingly no end to the insanity. But fixing it doesn’t just mean shutting off the torrent of public cash to these boondoggles. It also means spotlighting those rare examples of effective, efficient government programs. Medicare Advantage has long been one of those outliers. Unsurprisingly, for that very reason, the left hates it. Now, President Trump must rescue this program from the Biden administration’s attempts to sabotage it.
Thirty-four million Americans have chosen Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare. It gives seniors more coverage options for things like dental, vision, and hearing, often for no additional premium. At the same time, thanks to free market competition, it is cost-efficient for the government. In fact, a recent study reveals that the rise in popularity of Medicare Advantage over traditional Medicare has saved the federal government $144 billion in the last decade.
And yet, the program is under fire from left wingers who see it as a threat to their “Medicare For All” dreams. The Biden administration spent years squeezing the program. 2024 and 2025 saw cuts made to it, and in their last days in office, the Biden White House proposed rates for 2026 that don’t even keep up with inflation. Democrats’ efforts to rationalize this targeting of Medicare Advantage don’t hold up to scrutiny, either. They like to claim that the program is rife with fraud, but a study by the Government Accountability Office found fraudulent payments to providers in fee-for-service Medicare were nearly double those with Medicare Advantage. In fact, research shows that making Medicare function more like Medicare Advantage could extend the Medicare Trust Fund’s solvency by 17 years.
Unfortunately, seniors are already feeling the pain from these cuts. Biden’s squeezing of the MA program has led to 1.3 million seniors losing access to their MA plans in 2025. Enrollees in 19 different states also saw their premiums shoot up by more than 10% at the start of this year. The Democrats want to destroy Medicare Advantage, and so far, little by little, they are succeeding.
The question is, now, will the Trump administration let them kill Medicare Advantage entirely? If the GOP is serious about making government more efficient and effective for American taxpayers, the answer must be a resounding no. Far from being the target of further cuts, Medicare Advantage should be used an example of how public-private partnerships can create wins for both consumers and American taxpayers. I hope my friend and representative Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) will join me in the fight to keep Medicare Advantage around for generations to come.
