According to the New York Sun, President Trump suggested during remarks at a private luncheon that the federal government may no longer support essential care programs and that states should instead rely on state-level funding to do so.
Professor and tax law expert Richard Kaplan says that the president’s remarks about Medicare, in particular, rest on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the program is financed.
“Medicare is almost entirely funded by the federal government through payroll taxes paid by almost all employees, the great majority of self-employed persons, and most employers; premiums paid by program enrollees; and general federal funds,” Kaplan said. “States have no role of any consequence.”