Medicare trust fund running out of money fast

[Geee]

The Hill:

Medicare’s main trust fund will run dry by 2028, two years earlier than previous estimates, according to a review released Wednesday by the Obama administration.

 

The Social Security trust fund will run dry by 2034, the same as expected last year.

 

Both programs, which made up about 40 percent of federal spending in 2015, face major solvency concerns in the next two decades, officials warned Wednesday.

"Medicare faces a substantial, long-term shortfall that needs to be addressed," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told reporters.

The long-term financial picture for Medicare is worsening despite a spate of government actions to reduce healthcare costs system-wide.

Andy Slavitt, acting head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, underscored the role that ObamaCare has played in helping to slow down overall healthcare costs.

“Some of this reduction in Medicare spending is the direct result of payment reforms in Affordable Care Act,” Slavitt told reporters.

But the long-term effects of those payment and delivery reforms will not be enough to cover the major increases in people enrolling in Medicare and the rising costs of their care.