The latest Medicare Trustees report is out and the news isn't good: Medicare is set to go bust in 2024, five years earlier than the 2029 date projected in last year's report. The Social Security program will run out of money earlier as well, in 2036 instead of 2037.
Remember: The Medicare trust fund pays for Medicare Part A, which means hospital insurance is affected. Part B payments are funded entirely by tax revenue and premiums paid by beneficiaries themselves.
Nevertheless, top physician advocacy groups leapt to the fore immediately after the report was released today.
"The Medicare Trustees report leaves no doubt that the time to repeal the Medicare physician payment formula is now -- to keep from digging a deeper financial hole and to preserve access to care for patients," said J. James Rohack, MD, immediate past president of the AMA, in a prepared statement. "Physicians who care for Medicare patients form the foundation of this critical program, and the Trustees confirmed today that they face a steep payment cut of nearly 30% on Jan. 1."
Dr. Rohack referenced a "three-step process" outlined by AMA president Cecil B. Wilson in Congressional testimony earlier this week as the AMA's preferred strategy to physician payment reform.
Despite the fact that Part B Medicare will theoretically always remain financially solvent, its skyrocketing costs -- at a time when the federal deficit has already hit unprecedented, stratospheric heights -- will force the government to take action, experts say.