--- title: Trump's Healthcare Op-Ed Really Made Jimmy Kimmel Mad description: In the wake of Trump's controversial op-ed in USA Today, Jimmy Kimmel lashed out at the president's health care policy. canonical: https://time.com/5421845/trumps-health-care-op-ed-jimmy-kimmel/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-11T15:04:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-13T08:02:35.940Z og:title: Trump's Health Care Op-Ed Really Made Jimmy Kimmel Mad og:description: "You didn't keep that promise" og:url: https://time.com/5421845/trumps-health-care-op-ed-jimmy-kimmel/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb579e5934f4869c9/69893c6197cdff35d56b6711/screen-shot-2018-10-11-at-10-30-39-am.png?branch=production&width=1126&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1126 og:image:height: 633 og:image:alt: Jimmy-Kimmel-Trump-Op-Ed og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's Health Care Op-Ed Really Made Jimmy Kimmel Mad twitter:description: "You didn't keep that promise" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb579e5934f4869c9/69893c6197cdff35d56b6711/screen-shot-2018-10-11-at-10-30-39-am.png?branch=production&width=1126&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump's Health Care Op-Ed Really Made Jimmy Kimmel Mad > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=911462b8-8b44-47eb-98d8-010e6ba8492d&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Important Medicare Deadlines [Watch (HLS stream): Important Medicare Deadlines](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jfsoUQT8.m3u8) (3:10)  _Published 2016-06-10. Phil Moeller and Larry Kotlikoff explain why it's so important to file for Medicare on time._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 11, 2018 3:04 PM UTC Phil Moeller and Larry Kotlikoff explain why it's so important to file for Medicare on time.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Oct 11, 2018 3:04 PM UTC In the wake of Trump’s [controversial op-ed](http://time.com/5420328/trump-medicare-for-all-op-ed/) in Wednesday’s issue of [_USA Today_](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/10/10/donald-trump-democrats-open-borders-medicare-all-single-payer-column/1560533002/), [Jimmy Kimmel](http://time.com/5419395/jimmy-kimmel-melania-trump/) lashed out at the president’s health care policy. During Wednesday’s episode of _Jimmy Kimmel Live!_, the late-night host slammed Trump for attacking Democrats over a health care proposal called Medicare for All while claiming that he kept a promise to protect coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. “You didn’t keep that promise. That promise was forced on you because [John McCain gave you the finger](http://time.com/4878038/john-mccain-vote-video/) and so you weren’t able to not keep that promise,” Kimmel said, referencing the moment that the late Sen. McCain [cast the deciding vote](http://time.com/4877796/health-care-senate-john-mccain-susan-collins-lisa-murkowski/) against the Republicans’ “skinny repeal” for the Affordable Care Act last year. “And yes, rates will go down in some states, but they would’ve gone down even further in all states if you and your buddies hadn’t spent the last year trying to cripple the plan we have now. This is like claiming you saved people from drowning after you put a hole in the side of the ship.” Watch the full clip of Jimmy Kimmel on Trump’s healthcare op-ed below. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:04] Historically, when everybody retired at 65, you [00:08] would get your gold watch, and you would sign up for [00:11] Social Security and you would sign up for Medicare. [00:13] Because Medicare you're eligible for at 65. But what's [00:17] happened lately, people don't take Social Security at [00:19] 65 and we're normally all for them delaying. But for [00:23] delay in taking Social Security creates some conflict [00:27] between the two programs that can really trap people. [00:30] And one of the big impacts it can have is people don't [00:34] understand that they have very specific enrollment [00:37] periods when they must sign up for Medicare. And if [00:40] they miss those enrollment periods- They have to pay [00:42] more, right? They have penalties and I hate to say this, [00:44] but the penalties last the rest of their lives. So, Phil. [00:48] Given that enrolling in Medicare turns out to be so [00:50] dangerous, what is it that people really need to know? [00:54] What rules do they need to follow to make sure they [00:55] don't get hurt? The most important rule, which many [00:58] people don't know Is that as long as you have [01:02] group employer insurance, you can defer filing for [01:05] Medicare till you're 165, let alone 65. So [01:10] the fact that you've turned 65 is not necessarily a [01:14] reason why you have to go down and file for Medicare. [01:16] So the first thing is, do you have employer coverage, [01:21] either directly because you're still working, or even if [01:23] you're retired, does your spouse have employer [01:25] coverage? So that's the first thing. The second thing is [01:28] to know that when you turn 65, if you have to get [01:32] medicare, you have a seven month window within [01:35] which to get it. The month you turn 65, three months [01:38] before, three months after. That you need to pay [01:41] attention to that enrollment period, which is called your [01:44] initial enrollment period. Now, say you're 68 and [01:48] you've been working the last three years and now [01:50] you're gonna retire. Well you don't have an initial [01:53] enrollment period anymore. You have what's called a [01:56] special enrollment period. We're gonna give you eight [01:58] months this time around. so you have a different [02:00] enrollment period because it's bot triggered to your [02:03] birthday, it's triggered to when you lose employer [02:07] sponsored healthcare and one little asterisk that ends [02:10] up tripping up lots of people is that traditionally when [02:13] people lost their job they got continuing coverage so it [02:17] was know by the short hand of COBRA A COBRA [02:20] insurance policy. COBRA, unfortunately, may protect [02:23] you from insurance, but it doesn't qualify as continuing [02:26] group coverage. So, your enrollment window period [02:30] starts when your COBRA begins, not when it ends. So, [02:33] I've had a number of people take COBRA for a year [02:35] and a half, two years, and then they turn around and [02:37] file for Medicare, and they get dinged with these [02:39] penalties. And how big are the penalties? The [02:42] penalties for part b are ten percent a year for [02:46] every year your late cumulative for the rest of your life. [02:50] The penalties for part d drug insurance are one [02:55] percent a month, so that's 12 % a year again for the [02:58] rest of your life. I'm Phil Molar I'm Larry Covnickov. And [03:02] we're here to help you get the most from your social [03:04] security. Absolutely. Great. 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