Michele Tafoya, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, pledges to protect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which her campaign calls the "Working Family Tax Cuts." The law widens an exemption from Medicare drug price negotiation, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates costs Medicare an additional $8.8 billion, and blocks rules that made it easier for low-income seniors to get help paying Medicare premiums.
The same law ends Medicare for many lawfully present immigrants and, the Medicare trustees found, lowers the hospital trust fund's revenue. Tafoya's campaign also promises to "cut prescription drug costs." More than 1.1 million Minnesotans are on Medicare.
Michele Tafoya's Pledge to Protect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's Medicare Changes
- Tafoya Pledged to Protect a Law That Exempts More Drugs From Medicare Price Negotiation. As of October 25, 2026, Michele Tafoya's Senate campaign website pledges to "Protect working families' tax cuts" and says "The far left wants to repeal the Working Family Tax Cuts that just put thousands of dollars back in Minnesotans' pockets." The House of Representatives' April 2026 resolution on the law states that Public Law 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is commonly known as the "Working Families Tax Cuts." Section 71203 of that law widens the orphan-drug exemption from Medicare drug price negotiation. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the change costs Medicare an additional $8.8 billion, and it lets the government delay selection of Keytruda and Opdivo, two cancer drugs, for negotiation; their selection has been delayed beyond 2026. KFF estimates a typical negotiated discount on Keytruda would mean annual savings on cost-sharing liability of around $3,300 for the seniors who take it.
- The Law Tafoya Pledged to Protect Makes It Harder for Low-Income Seniors to Get Help With Medicare Premiums. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Michele Tafoya pledges to protect blocks two rules that made it easier for low-income seniors to enroll in the Medicaid programs that pay their Medicare premiums. An earlier Congressional Budget Office analysis found 1.3 million fewer Medicare beneficiaries would also have Medicaid coverage in 2034, and KFF calculated that a senior with $967 a month in income who loses that help would be paying $185 per month in Medicare premiums, or about 20% of income.
- The Law Tafoya Pledged to Protect Ends Medicare for Refugees, Asylees and Other Lawfully Present Immigrants. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Michele Tafoya pledges to protect terminates Medicare coverage for lawfully present immigrants who are not citizens or green-card holders, such as refugees and asylees. KFF calls it the first time that Congress has eliminated Medicare coverage for people who were legally eligible, and current enrollees will have their Medicare coverage terminated on January 4, 2027, Justice in Aging reports. Many of these older immigrants paid Medicare and other taxes in the U.S. for decades, the group notes.
- The Law Tafoya Pledged to Protect Lowers Medicare's Hospital Trust Fund Revenue. The 2026 Medicare Trustees found the hospital trust fund's revenue lower than previously projected due to changes in the 2025 budget reconciliation bill, the law Michele Tafoya pledges to protect. The trustees project the fund will be depleted in 2033, and at that point, unless Congress acts, Medicare would face an 11% cut in hospital payments, growing to a 16% cut by 2040, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget reports.
- Tafoya Promises to Cut Prescription Drug Costs While Pledging to Protect a Law That Raises Them for Medicare. Michele Tafoya's campaign website says that as senator she will fight "price-gougers" and "cut prescription drug costs and keep power in the hands of patients." The law she pledges to protect does the opposite for some of Medicare's costliest drugs: by widening the orphan-drug exemption it delays negotiation on drugs such as Keytruda, on which Medicare and beneficiaries spent $5.6 billion in 2023 alone, KFF found.
What the Medicare Changes Michele Tafoya Backs Mean for Minnesota
- Medicare enrollees. Minnesota had 1,150,958 people on Medicare in recent KFF data; they are the people for whom negotiated drug prices, premium help and the hospital trust fund matter.
- Older immigrants. Among the more than 5,000 Minnesota immigrants who lost Medical Assistance on October 1, 2026 under the same law are refugees and asylees, MPR News reported; for older lawfully present immigrants, the law's Medicare termination follows on January 4, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions About Michele Tafoya on Medicare
What is Michele Tafoya's record on Medicare under Trump?
Michele Tafoya pledges to protect the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which exempts more drugs from Medicare price negotiation, blocks rules that helped low-income seniors get premium help, ends Medicare for many lawfully present immigrants and, according to the Medicare trustees, lowers the hospital trust fund's revenue. Her campaign also promises to cut prescription drug costs.
Does the law Michele Tafoya backs change Medicare drug price negotiation?
Yes. Michele Tafoya backs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, whose orphan-drug change delays negotiation for drugs such as Keytruda and Opdivo. KFF notes that 2028 is the first year that a change to the IRA's orphan drug exclusion is in effect, based on the 2025 law, so the change reaches the prices seniors pay from that year.
Will older immigrants in Minnesota lose Medicare under the law Michele Tafoya backs?
Yes. The law Michele Tafoya pledges to protect ends Medicare for lawfully present immigrants who are not citizens or green-card holders, such as refugees and asylees, and Justice in Aging reports that current enrollees lose coverage on January 4, 2027.
Last updated: 2026-10-25