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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
US healthcare almost broke, Medicare and Social Security's trust funds will have no money by this date
The financial health of America's two most critical safety-net programs, Medicare and Social Security, is deteriorating faster than expected. An annual report released Wednesday, June 18, by program trustees shows that rising health care costs, demographic pressures, and a new law expanding Social Security benefits have accelerated the timeline for when the programs become out of money and cannot pay full benefits. The Medicare hospital insurance trust fund is now expected to run out of money in 2033, three years earlier than projected just last year. Meanwhile, Social Security's combined trust funds, which support retirement and disability benefits, will be depleted by 2034, a year earlier than previously forecast. At that point, beneficiaries would see a significant reduction in monthly payments unless Congress intervenes. The updated projections concern the long-term solvency of these programs, which tens of millions of Americans depend on for health care and income security. Medicare's Trust Fund to Be Exhausted by 2033 Live Events The report highlights that Medicare's hospital insurance (Part A) trust fund faces a steeper decline due to higher-than-expected health care expenses in 2024. The fund posted a surplus of $29 billion last year, but deficits are expected to begin after 2027, leading to full depletion by 2033. Once exhausted, Medicare will only be able to cover 89% of inpatient care costs, such as hospital visits, hospice services, and post-hospital nursing care. Currently, about 68 million people are enrolled in Medicare, including Americans over age 65 and those with severe illnesses or disabilities. Social Security Set to Pay Reduced Benefits by 2034 Social Security's combined trust funds, which support retirees and disability recipients, are projected to be depleted by 2034, one year earlier than last year's forecast of 2035. After that date, the program would only be able to pay 81% of scheduled benefits, if no changes are made. This accelerated timeline results in part from the Social Security Fairness Act passed in January 2025. This law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, increasing benefits for some workers. Trustees confirmed that this legislative change worsened the trust fund's depletion. Urgency Builds for Legislative Action Trustees of both programs urged lawmakers to act swiftly. 'Medicare still faces a substantial financial shortfall that needs to be addressed with further legislation,' the report said. Frank Bisignano, the newly appointed Social Security Commissioner, said that stabilizing the trust funds is a top priority for the Trump administration, which has so far pledged not to cut benefits. Despite this, experts warn that without new revenue or cost controls, both programs risk serious disruption. Nancy Altman of Social Security Works argued that lawmakers must decide: raise revenue or cut benefits. 'There are two options for action,' she said. 'Any politician who doesn't support increasing Social Security's revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts.' AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan added that with over 69 million Americans relying on Social Security, 'the stability of this vital program only becomes more important.' Demographics and Debt Add Pressure The Congressional Budget Office has repeatedly warned that an aging population is the main driver of rising debt related to Social Security and Medicare. The last major Social Security reform occurred about 40 years ago, when the eligibility age was raised from 65 to 67. Medicare eligibility remains at age 65. Several legislative proposals are currently being considered to address the trust funds' financial outlook. However, none have yet been passed.
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Medicare and Social Security go-broke dates pushed up due to rising health care costs, new SSA law
Advertisement The trustees say the latest findings show the urgency of needed changes to the programs, which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare's troubling math to the next generation. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up President Donald Trump and other Republicans have vowed not to make any cuts to Medicare or Social Security, even as they seek to shrink the federal government's expenditures. 'Current-law projections indicate that Medicare still faces a substantial financial shortfall that needs to be addressed with further legislation. Such legislation should be enacted sooner rather than later to minimize the impact on beneficiaries, providers, and taxpayers,' the trustees state in the report. About 68 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government's health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses. Advertisement Wednesday's report shows a worsening situation for the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund compared to last year. But the forecasted go-broke date of 2033 is still later than the dates of 2031, 2028 and 2026 predicted just a few years ago. Once the fund's reserves become depleted, Medicare would be able to cover only 89% of costs for patients' hospital visits, hospice care and nursing home stays or home health care that follow hospital visits. The report said expenses last year for Medicare's hospital insurance trust fund came in higher than expected. Income exceeded expenditures by nearly $29 billion last year for the hospital insurance trust fund, the report stated. Trustees expect that surplus to continue through 2027. Deficits then will follow until the fund becomes depleted in 2033. The report states that the Social Security Social Security Fairness Act, enacted in January, which repealed the Windfall Elimination and Government Pension Offset provisions of the Social Security Act and increased Social Security benefit levels for some workers, had an impact on the depletion date of SSA's trust funds. Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age has never changed for Medicare, with people eligible for the medical coverage when they turn 65. Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the popular public benefit program said in a statement that 'there are two options for action: Bringing more money into Social Security, or reducing benefits. Any politician who doesn't support increasing Social Security's revenue is, by default, supporting benefit cuts.' Advertisement Congressional Budget Office reporting has stated that the biggest drivers of debt rising in relation to GDP are increasing interest costs and spending for Medicare and Social Security. An aging population drives those numbers. Several legislative proposals have been put forward to address Social Security's impending insolvency. Associated Press reporters Amanda Seitz and Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Miller-Meeks denies Big Beautiful Bill Act would add trillions to national debt
Members of Congress are now on their Memorial Day recess and back in their home districts. Republicans in the House of Representatives left D.C. by adopting a big piece of Trump's agenda last week. It's officially called the Big Beautiful Bill Act. But this is a budget with spending details and tax cuts. Independent estimates say it would add $4 trillion to the national debt if this passes the Senate in its current form. A few quick specifics. It would extend the first Trump administration tax breaks, include new cuts on estate taxes and reduce Medicaid spending while adding a work requirement to be eligible. It would also limit dependents for SNAP food assistance, weaken court authority to enforce contempt charges for ignoring and defying court orders and injunctions, and a lot more than that. Those restrictions on Medicaid and SNAP food assistance fell under the purview of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks serves on it. For months Republicans maintained they would see no cuts. A crew with a group called Social Security Works asked the Congresswoman about that in March. 'You voted in this committee to advance to advance resolution that where you guys need to find savings for 880 billion dollars,' the group said. 'How are you going to find that savings without cutting Medicaid?' 'There are ways that we can find it and we will continue to that,' Miller-Meeks answered. 'As you know, we didn't make any cuts. All we did was pass a budget reconciliation solution.' A different crew with Social Security Works tried asking her about her vote in favor of the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in committee that got included in the final bill. Congresswoman Miller-Meeks would not stop to talk and hurried to get on an elevator for a conference meeting. That more than 1100-page budget package passed by the House of Representatives is still being digested. We mentioned a few of the ramifications. Host Jim Niedelman gets into that with Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks. She voted for it and joins him for a conversation. 'They underpredicted the effect of revenue growth during the first Trump administration,' Miller-Meeks said. To hear more, click on the video. Now we want to hear from you, too, and that brings us to our question of the week. What do you think about the Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by the House of Representatives? Share your thoughts at 4therecord@ Local 4 News, your local election headquarters, is proud to present , a weekly news and public affairs program focused on the issues important to you. It's a program unlike any other here in the Quad Cities. Tune in each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as brings you up to speed on what's happening in the political arena, from Springfield, Des Moines, Washington, D.C. and right here at home. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Protestors fear proposed Medicaid cuts would close Newton hospital
May 27—Supporters of Medicaid last week opposed Congress' budget cuts by protesting outside Newton Clinic and MercyOne Newton Medical Center, which they said could now be in danger of closing or eliminating vital health care services for rural Iowans. The hospital already paused all labor and delivery services in 2024. Cindy Pollard, of Newton, said everybody she knows since 1999 has been born at the local hospital, known back then as Skiff Medical Center. Her wife was also born there. No babies have been delivered locally since last fall. Jasper County mothers have had to travel at least a half-hour away for a labor and delivery unit. "They no longer deliver babies here, and it's where everyone was born," Pollard said at the protest on May 21. "Our relatives are going to Grinnell to deliver ... Everything is against rural Iowa — the schools and Medicaid cuts — everything affects us out here. So that's why I'm going to start showing up right here." Progress Iowa and Social Security Works organized the Hands Off Medicaid rally last week in opposition to the House Republican budget bill. Over a 10-year period, it is estimated almost $700 billion in federal funding will be cut from Medicaid and $500 billion will be cut from Medicare. Health care advocates say nursing homes and hospitals could feel the financial effects of these cuts. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents Jasper County, voted in favor of the bill. Her decision was a subject of scrutiny by protestors, who felt betrayed considering her background as a physician. They also criticized a recent social media video in which Miller-Meeks refuses to answer questions from a representative of Social Security Works, a political group that advocates for the expansion of Social Security and for the economic security of disadvantaged and at-risk populations. In the video, Social Security Works confronts Miller-Meeks saying she lied to their faces when she said she wouldn't vote for Medicaid cuts. "But then you've actually voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid in the history of the country," said Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works. "Do you have any comments on that? Do you have any comments on the four hospitals in your district that are gonna close because of your vote?" Larry Anderson, of Newton, said he attended the rally last week because he would hate to see the community affected by these Medicaid cuts. "People don't realize this affects everyone," he said. "This is not just the so-called 'idle poor,' this is our nursing homes and our hospitals. We've already lost some OBGYN services, but we don't need to lose the hospital. And that could very well happen if Medicaid like this." Anderson is simultaneously surprised and not surprised by Miller-Meeks voting for the budget bill. "I think that no doubt she is under a great deal of pressure from her party and her party leadership, but we didn't elect her to do this," Anderson said. "We elected her to stand up for us, her constituents. And she's not doing it if she votes for this."
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crowd rallies at Wilmington Social Security office in latest 'Hands Off' protest
A crowd gathered outside of Wilmington's Social Security office on Thursday, April 24, with one clear message -- "Hands Off of Social Security." "We got a call ... to action from Social Security Works, which is a national organization," Della Hann, leader with Brunswick Indivisible Stepping Forward for Action, said standing outside of the Social Security Office on S. 16th Street. "They asked that we show our support ... and that's why we're here, showing our support not only for Social Security as the entity but also for the workers. ... We're fully behind them and we want them to keep their jobs." Thursday's demonstration comes in the wake of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump administration initiative headed by billionaire Elon Musk, terminating several leases for Social Security offices nationwide, amongst other recent changes. In her hands, Hann held a letter shared by Social Security Works signed by 110 U.S. congressional representatives, urging that all Social Security field offices remain open and that the program continue. Hann said she attempted to deliver the letter to the local field office, but they didn't have the appropriate staff to accept it, though it has already been delivered to the national office. "The economics of our entire region really would be in serious jeopardy if (Social Security) was destroyed in any kind of way or lessened," Hann said. "Retirement now is a huge part of this area of North Carolina in terms of its livelihood. Many of us, including myself, have come here to retire because it's such a gorgeous area. We would have to rethink those strategies if we can't have in our arsenal a piece of Social Security that we've paid for." Thursday's protest is one of several associated with the "Hands Off" movement in the Port City. Here's more on other recent related demonstrations in the Wilmington area. On Saturday, April 19, a crowd gathered in Wilmington's Innes Park outside of City Hall, critiquing the current presidential administration and Elon Musk. The event was a public demonstration aimed at protesting what organizers called "arbitrary and capricious political, personal, and discriminatory cuts being made in order to give millionaires and billionaires another tax break off the backs of working Americans." Lynn Shoemaker, vice president with the North Carolina American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, opened the community town hall, which then featured three-minute vignettes from numerous community members. Protestors held signs with messages including "Hands Off Everything," "The U.S. Rule of Law is Dead," and "Stop the Billionaire Takeover," reflecting a wide range of concerns. Prior coverage: Hundreds attend anti-Trump 'Hands Off' protests in downtown Wilmington, Brunswick County Two weeks prior to the community town hall in Innes Park, hundreds protested across New Hanover and Brunswick counties on April 5. Organizers estimated roughly 1,100 attended the rally in Wilmington, which took place just blocks away from the N.C. Azalea Festival downtown. Organizer Sam Pierce previously told the StarNews the event was just the beginning of what he hoped would become a larger gesture on par with the Civil Rights and labor movements. Spotted in the crowd was Randy Blythe, vocalist of the Grammy-nominated metal band Lamb of God. 'I believe that the U.S. government is slowly but methodically being taken over by technological oligarchs who are attempting to do their best to dismantle the mechanisms of democracy to remain in power perpetually if at all possible,' Blythe said. Outside of the Brunswick County Courthouse in Bolivia, more than 800 people attended another Hands Off protest on the same day. Organizer Shelley Allen previously told the StarNews that a variety of issues motivated the crowd to attend, including cuts made to the federal workforce and healthcare programs. This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Hands Off protest held at Wilmington, NC, Social Security office
