Trump Can Protect Seniors' Healthcare

In the waning days of the Biden presidency, the administration proposed yet another blow to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program — a disappointing (though ultimately, unsurprising) reversal given Joe Biden’s raft of half-baked and unsustainable promises on Medicare “reform.” Funding for this market-based program already fails to address ever-rising inflation, and this latest proposal will put even greater pressure on seniors who are already struggling to afford medical coverage. The Biden administration has left American seniors in the lurch; now, President Donald Trump must act to put this crucial program back on solid footing. More than half of seniors eligible for Medicare are enrolled in MA plans. These plans are an alternative to traditional Medicare that typically offer additional benefits like coverage of dental, hearing, and vision services – often for no additional premium. And, because these plans are grounded in competition and have improper payment rates below the traditional
Medicare program, MA is an important and market-based improvement over the status-quo for taxpayers and consumers.

Nearly 33 million Americans are enrolled in a MA plan, and beneficiaries cite the simplicity and convenience of plans as reasons for continued and expanding enrollment. In other words, erratic executive actions that threaten MA will make life and health care access more difficult for a large and vulnerable part of our citizenry. Beneficiaries may see headlines about MA reimbursement rates increasing by about 2%, but they should not be fooled by this misinformation; it is pure political gamesmanship. The government’s proposed rate “increases” are lower than the current inflation rate, making them a cut in real dollars. This adds insult to injury, given that inflation has skyrocketed under Biden and remains remarkably stubborn. Inflation has hit the medical sector particularly hard. This year, medical cost growth is anticipated to reach its highest level in 13 years. PricewaterhouseCoopers is “projecting an 8% year-on-year medical cost trend in 2025 for the Group market and 7.5% for the
Individual market. This near-record trend is driven by inflationary pressure, prescription drug spending and behavioral health utilization.” Without adequate funding, MA providers will have to pass these increased costs onto ratepayers, resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs for seniors. This is all-but-certain to result in the MA program being swallowed by traditional Medicare, with competition going by the wayside and taxpayers footing the bill for more improper payments.

Progressive policymakers despise MA for the very same reason millions of older Americans love it: It brings a healthy dose of market competition and ingenuity to what is otherwise a costly and poorly designed Medicare program. While eliminating MA outright isn’t a feasible option, the program is doomed to die a slow death by a million rate adjustments – unless reforms reverse the status-quo. Less than a year ago, then-candidate Trump said “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.” Biden has left Trump with a critical opportunity to live up to this promise. American seniors cannot become collateral damage in this act of political sabotage by one presidential administration against another. MA has bolstered the lives of millions of Americans and has been a welcome market-based improvement on a bank-breaking federal program. President Trump and lawmakers must quickly work together to save the Medicare Advantage program.

Alex Wilcox’s Resume Gives No Signs He Is Equipped to Run the FAA

All it takes is one bad apple to make its way into a government agency and ruin its credibility and effectiveness. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs a steady hand and good decision-making. The selection of Alex Wilcox to serve as FAA Administrator would undermine an agency trying to correct course after the Biden administration and throw a wrench into the agency’s efforts to complete its growing to-do list. With a messy history — both personally and professionally — Wilcox is ill-fitted to lead an agency that now has the eyes of the country on it following the tragic crashes that occurred in January. In important ways, he is fundamentally out of step with President Trump’s agenda and has, moreover, proved that his judgment is profoundly questionable. It’s probable that not many people are familiar with Wilcox, but they have likely seen his airline, JSX, on the news or at their local airport. Wilcox has worked in the aviation industry for just about his whole career. While
this likely caught the attention of the administration as they sifted through resumes, a peek under the hood shows that Wilcox was anything but a good businessman and company leader. For example, in 2015, a pilot working at JetSuite Air was fired ([link removed]) for blowing the whistle about unsafe plane conditions. The pilot later sued Wilcox, the CEO at the time, after he was “severely reprimanded” and later suspended with pay. The Department of Labor and an administrative law ultimately ruled in favor of the pilot. Blowing the whistle in this case could not have been easy, but was nevertheless critical considering human lives were at risk. But for Wilcox, this pilot’s concerns were a threat, and he chose to, or at least oversaw, his company’s retaliation. Wilcox showed early in his career that safety and security were his lowest priorities—an alarming reality for an industry committed to maintaining the highest safety
standards.

Wilcox has a history of progressivism. He has a decades-long track record ([link removed]) of donating to former Democratic presidential candidates and members of Congress, including ones that sit on influential transportation-related committees. In 2024, conveniently, Wilcox stopped donating to Democrat lawmakers. It should come as no surprise that a registered Democrat and long-time donor has drunk the DEI-commitment cool-aid. In fact, Wilcox’s company embraced this movement so much that it received ([link removed]) a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index for its corporate policies and workplace equality measures. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration has taken considerable efforts to end
([link removed]) DEI hiring, instead mandating that the federal government hire based on “merit, excellence, and intelligence.” This executive order was one of the first actions taken by President Trump on his first day in office, and it’s baffling that his administration would consider agency heads that harbor diametrically opposed positions on DEI and are proven champions of the movement.

It’s worth asking what other anti-conservative positions Wilcox might harbor – positions that might manifest in his work at the FAA. Attempting to reverse the disastrous agenda of a Democratic administration with a Democrat heading a major agency raises obvious concerns. If the old saying that “personnel is policy” is true, hiring Wilcox is about as bad as it gets.

Wilcox’s life isn’t spotless outside of his business dealings, either. A history ([link removed]) of arrests ([link removed]) and allegations of abusive behavior ([link removed]) and aggression ([link removed]) also mar his personal record. Clearly, there is ample evidence that Wilcox is far from an ideal candidate to lead an administration tasked with ensuring the safety of the nation’s travelers.

While the administration may believe it has found a promising new candidate to run the FAA, a Google search shows that someone didn’t do their homework and vet Wilcox properly. Especially at a time when everyone is unsettled by recent aviation tragedies, putting an ideologically misaligned administrator with faulty judgment and character into one of the most powerful roles in the transportation industry is exactly how you lose the trust of the American people.

Blogs:

Tuesday: TPA Opposes Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Secretary of Labor ([link removed])

Wednesday: Trump Can Protect Seniors’ Health Care And Secure Their Future ([link removed])

Thursday: Alex Wilcox’s Resume Gives No Signs He Is Equipped to Run the FAA ([link removed])

Friday: How Trump Can Unleash American Technology: Interview with Vance Ginn, Ph.D ([link removed])

Media:

February 13, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their piece on Trump's new aluminum and steel tariffs.

February 13, 2025: The Daily Wire mentioned TPA in their article, "‘You Were Elected To Do Big Things’: GOP Senators Urge Trump To Make Tax Cuts Permanent."

February 14, 2025: Vaping Post (Switzerland) mentioned TPA in their article, "A Victory For THR in Canada – The Proposed Vape Flavour Ban is Put on Hold."

February 15, 2025: Blaze Media ran TPA's op-ed, "How the US stamped out Chinese shipping shenanigans."

February 15, 2025: The Californian (Salinas, Calif.) mentioned TPA in their article, "I'm hopeful Trump can really make America great."

February 17, 2025: Issues and Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, "Trump Can Protect Seniors’ Health Care And Secure Their Future."

February 17, 2025: Inside Sources ran TPA's op-ed, "Nominee Gives No Signs He Is Equipped for the FAA."

February 17, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their article, "Governor Moore adds 5,000 state jobs as Trump cuts federal government size."

February 17, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me in their piece on the growth of Maryland's workforce since Gov. Wex Moore has taken office.

February 17, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed for their segment on the difference between President Trump's and Governor Moore's hiring methodology.

February 18, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted me in their article, "Gov. Moore touts no property tax hikes, but critics note rising fees for Marylanders."

February 18, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their piece on tax increases in Maryland.

February 19, 2025: The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their article, " FOX45: Gov. Moore touts no property tax hikes, but critics note rising fees for Marylanders."

February 19, 2025: Katy News (Katy, Texas) mentioned TPA in their article, "Sen. Cruz Files Bill to Repeal Costly Chemical Tax on American Manufacturers."

February 19, 2025: Texas Border Business (McAllen, Texas) mentioned TPA in their article, "Bill to Repeal Costly Chemical Tax on American Manufacturers Reintroduced."

February 19, 2025: Texas Insider mentioned TPA in their article, "Sen. Cruz Files Bill to Repeal Costly Chemical Tax on American Manufacturers."

February 20, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their piece on Gov. Wes Moore's proposed budget for Maryland.

February 20, 2025: WBOB-AM (Salem Radio Network, Jacksonville, FL) interviewed me for their segment on government spending and Trump's plans to cut the government.

February 20, 2025: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me for their piece on education funding in Carroll County.

Have a great weekend!

Best,

David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1101 14th Street, NW
Suite 500
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx

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