WP: Report Emphasizes Shortfall in Medicare (in worse shape than S.S.)

[kskiska]

Thursday, March 24, 2005; Page A01

The two independent trustees overseeing Social Security and Medicare broke with the Bush administration's trustees yesterday, saying Medicare's financial problems far exceed Social Security's and are in urgent need of attention.

Republican Thomas R. Saving and Democrat John L. Palmer said Social Security's condition has changed little since they joined the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees in 2000. But in the trustees' report released yesterday, they wrote that Medicare's prospects have "deteriorated dramatically" with rising medical costs and the addition in 2003 of a prescription drug benefit.

"The financial outlook for Social Security has improved marginally since 2000," wrote Saving and Palmer. "In sharp contrast, Medicare's financial outlook has deteriorated dramatically over the past five years and is now much worse that Social Security's."

The three trustees from the Bush Cabinet -- Treasury Secretary John W. Snow, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt and Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao -- chose to emphasize Social Security's problems almost exclusively at the report's release.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59227-2005Mar23.html

[xultar]

1. WOW It appears that the WP has unhitched it's wagon from the circus

train. This is the 3rd story this week that takes a nip outta the BFEE.

[TacticalPeek]

2. A small group of right wing lizards.

Zealots - I mean zealots.


A small group of right wing zealots is destroying the planet.

[DeepModem Mom]

3. Kick!

[KT2000]

4. life extending efforts

will likely increase in the future - higher costs for sure unless Shrub makes a law to unplug senior citizens!?!

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

5. Unplug Senior Citizens

Just don't unplug brain dead women.

[TacticalPeek]

6. Kick.

:kick:

[durablend]

7. They're going for a "2 fer"

Going to abolish both of them while nobody's looking.

[bettyellen]

8. .

[priller]

9. Of course, using their terminology, the govt is "bust" right now!

SS is insolvent in 2041. Medicare is insolvent in 2020. Well, guys, the General Fund is insolvent, bust, bankrupt -- whatever you want to call it -- right now. And has been every year Bush has been president.

The "unfunded liability" for SS over 75 years is 3.7 trillion, I believe. The General Fund deficit is over 10 trillion for that same period.