A Doctors' Note On Medicare Page 4
ADVERTISEMENT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
810 Facts That Impact The Medicare Program (cont’d)
The Number Of Workers Paying Into The System Has Declined Over Time And Will Continue To
Decline.
6.
Baby boomers
started to retire in 2008. This year the oldest of their generation turned 65 and began enrolling in Medicare. In 1965 there were 4.6 workers per
6
beneficiary. Today there are 2.9 workers per beneficiary.
Medicare Is Running a Cash Deficit – and Has Been For Some Time
7.
. The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund has been running a deficit
since 2008 and is projected to continue to do so forever. According to a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, in 2011, the
Medicare program ran a $288.3 billion cash shortfall. In fact, since the creation of the program in 1965, Medicare has run cash deficits each
7
year, except 1966 and 1974.
Under the current fee-for-service Medicare program, seniors do not have the peace of mind that they are protected
8.
against significant out-of-pocket medical expenses.
As the President’s Fiscal Commission explained, “Medicare beneficiaries must
navigate a hodge-podge of premiums, deductibles, and copays that offer neither spending predictability nor protection from catastrophic
8
financial risk.”
The Medicare Program Spends a LOT.
9.
Under current law and assuming a 10-year ‘Doc Fix’, net Medicare spending totals $2.8 trillion
over the next five years, and $6.6 trillion over the next 10 years. This is 25 percent of all mandatory spending, and approximately 15 percent of
9
all federal spending.
10
About 25 Percent of Medicare Program Expenditures Occur Within the Last Year of Life.
10.
6
Senger, Alyene, “Medicare at Risk: Visualizing the Need for Reform,” May 22, 2012,
7
Holtz-Eakin, Douglas and Nussle, Jim, “Medicare’s Dirty Little Secret,” April 25, 2012,
8
The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, “The Moment of Truth,” December 2010,
9
The Boards of Trustees, Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds, “Annual Report of the Boards of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds,” April 23, 2012,
10
Hogan, Christopher et al,
“Medicare Beneficiaries’ Costs Of Care In The Last Year Of Life,” Health Affairs, Volume 20, Number 4, July 2001, Page
188-195,
ADVERTISEMENT
0 votes
Related Articles
Related forms
Related Categories
Parent category: Medical