Medicare
The main trust fund behind Medicare, the U.S. health-care program for the elderly and disabled, will be exhausted in 2026, three years earlier than was projected a year ago.  Medicare’s Board of Trustees blamed the earlier depletion forecast on expectations of lower payroll taxes and less revenue from taxing Social Security benefits, both the result of the tax overhaul signed by President Donald Trump last year. Medicare is also expected to spend more than projected last year, the report said.  “As in past years, the Trustees have determined that the fund is not adequately financed over the next 10 years”.  Each year, the trustees project the long-term finances of Medicare, which covers about 58 million Americans. Medicare spent $710 billion in 2017, making it the single biggest purchaser of health services in the U.S.  The long-term solvency is also affected by lawmakers’ repeal in February of a controversial Obamacare effort … Read More