News: Medicare Part A fully funded until 2036, report says

The Medicare Board of Trustees has released its annual report on the status of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund—the institution responsible for funding Medicare. According to the fact sheet, the Board of Trustees found that the “Social Security and Medicare programs both continue to face significant financing issues.”

Here are some important highlights from the report:

• Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (OASDI): According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), this account provides “automatic spending authority to pay monthly benefits to retired worker (old-age) beneficiaries and their spouses and children and to survivors of deceased insured workers.” The Board of Trustees projects that this account will be able to pay 100% of total scheduled benefits until 2033, at which point the fund will only be able to provide 79% of its total scheduled benefits.
• Disability Insurance Trust Fund (DI): According to the SSA, this account provides “automatic spending authority to pay monthly benefits to disabled-worker beneficiaries and their spouses and children.” The Board of Trustees projects that this account will be able to pay 100% of its total scheduled benefits through at least 2098.
• Hospital Insurance Trust Fund: This trust fund is synonymous with “Medicare Part A,” the U.S. health insurance program for those 65 and older. The Board of Trustees that Medicare Part A will be able to pay 100% of the total schedule benefits until 2036, at which point it will only be able to pay 89% of its total scheduled benefits.

Editor’s note: To read the full Trustee report, click here. To read the AHA’s summary of the Trustee report, click here. To read the Trustee fact sheet, click here. To read the SSA definitions of the OASDI and the DI, click on the respective links.