Winehole23
05-12-2009, 06:00 PM
Report: Medicare fund eight years from insolvency (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-medicare13-2009may13,0,1363760.story)
The trustees' prediction is the bleakest assessment in years for the nation's health plan, which will soon face further pressures as baby boomers enter the system.
By Noam N. Levey
May 13, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- Underscoring the urgency of the current push in Washington to rein in skyrocketing healthcare costs, Medicare's trustees warned today that the program's biggest fund would run out of money in just eight years.
The prediction -- issued in an annual report on Medicare and Social Security finances -- offered the bleakest assessment of Medicare's future in years and reflects growing concerns among policy experts that the nation's healthcare spending is unsustainable.
"The Medicare trustees report makes clear that today there is no more important long-term fiscal policy measure than gaining control of the growth of Medicare costs by delivering healthcare services more efficiently," said Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. His comment echoed calls that federal officials from both parties have been making for decades.
Medicare, now in its fifth decade, provides health insurance to about 45 million mostly senior citizens.
But the impending eligibility of baby boomers, who are projected to start joining Medicare in 2011, and the unrelenting rise in healthcare costs have heightened concerns in recent years about the program's long-term viability.
The current economic downturn, which has resulted in the elimination of millions of jobs, has further eroded Medicare.
Social Security and Medicare are financed primarily by taxes evenly divided between workers and employers that amount to 15.3% of wages.
The Social Security trust fund, however, is not expected to run out of money until 2037, according to the trustees' report.
Today, those pushing to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, including senior administration officials, pointed to the Medicare news to redouble their argument.
AARP Executive Vice President John Rother called the report a "clarion call for health care reform."
President Obama and groups such as the AARP are pushing for cuts in how much the federal government pays private insurers who contract to provide Medicare insurance for seniors. They are also pushing for faster approval of generic drugs. Both steps challenge major healthcare industries.
The president and his allies on Capitol Hill also are exploring broader changes in the way that Medicare pays for services, including new penalties on hospitals and doctors who don't meet new quality standards.
The trustees' prediction is the bleakest assessment in years for the nation's health plan, which will soon face further pressures as baby boomers enter the system.
By Noam N. Levey
May 13, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- Underscoring the urgency of the current push in Washington to rein in skyrocketing healthcare costs, Medicare's trustees warned today that the program's biggest fund would run out of money in just eight years.
The prediction -- issued in an annual report on Medicare and Social Security finances -- offered the bleakest assessment of Medicare's future in years and reflects growing concerns among policy experts that the nation's healthcare spending is unsustainable.
"The Medicare trustees report makes clear that today there is no more important long-term fiscal policy measure than gaining control of the growth of Medicare costs by delivering healthcare services more efficiently," said Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner. His comment echoed calls that federal officials from both parties have been making for decades.
Medicare, now in its fifth decade, provides health insurance to about 45 million mostly senior citizens.
But the impending eligibility of baby boomers, who are projected to start joining Medicare in 2011, and the unrelenting rise in healthcare costs have heightened concerns in recent years about the program's long-term viability.
The current economic downturn, which has resulted in the elimination of millions of jobs, has further eroded Medicare.
Social Security and Medicare are financed primarily by taxes evenly divided between workers and employers that amount to 15.3% of wages.
The Social Security trust fund, however, is not expected to run out of money until 2037, according to the trustees' report.
Today, those pushing to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, including senior administration officials, pointed to the Medicare news to redouble their argument.
AARP Executive Vice President John Rother called the report a "clarion call for health care reform."
President Obama and groups such as the AARP are pushing for cuts in how much the federal government pays private insurers who contract to provide Medicare insurance for seniors. They are also pushing for faster approval of generic drugs. Both steps challenge major healthcare industries.
The president and his allies on Capitol Hill also are exploring broader changes in the way that Medicare pays for services, including new penalties on hospitals and doctors who don't meet new quality standards.