Medicare hospital fund to last 4 years longer

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

WASHINGTON (AP) — Medicare's finances are looking brighter, the government said Monday. The program's giant hospital trust fund won't be exhausted until 2030 — four years later than last year's estimate.

Meanwhile, Social Security's massive retirement program will remain solvent until 2034, officials say, although disability benefits are in more immediate danger.

The disability trust fund now is projected to run dry in 2016, unless Congress acts. At that point, the program will collect enough payroll taxes to pay only 81 percent of benefits.

The trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare issued their annual report Monday on the financial health of the government's two largest benefit programs.

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140728/us-social-security-medicare-ba454bb681.html

[upaloopa]

1. Raise the cap

Raise the cap it isn't rocket science.

[Nye Bevan]

2. There is no "cap" on Medicare taxes (nt)

[mdm646]

3. Save the hospitals

The un-talked about answer to this and several other problems aren't that hard, unless you are a politician of course. The control drug and medical supply costs is now and has been a dangerous answer to these problems for quite a while. I am sick and tired of hearing about drug research costs. Every day I donate to research costs for medicines and research. What happens to the money I donate? What happens to the drug and medical equipment that is developed at universities with public funds? How much money is management ethically entitled to? These answers are going to take political answer which is tough to do when the money from these sources is flowing into the coffers that make the political machine move.

[Turbineguy]

4. Another failure for

the Bush Administration.