Cotton2226
Mayor
Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns about discussions to reform Medicare and Social Security. It is good to hear from you, and I appreciate hearing your concerns and opinions on these two very critical issues.
Medicare covers approximately 48 million persons (40 million aged and 8 million disabled) at a total cost of about $569 billion, accounting for approximately 3.7% of GDP. Medicare is an entitlement program, which means that it is required to pay for covered services provided to eligible persons so long as specific criteria are met.
Since 1965, the Medicare program has undergone considerable change. Most recently during the previous Congress, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), were signed into law. However, in the absence of congressional action, the Medicare program will be unsustainable in the long run. The Part A trust fund has been estimated to become insolvent in 2024. And although the Part B trust fund is financed in large part through federal general revenues and cannot become insolvent, Medicare spending growth will put increasing strains on Congress's competing priorities.
The Social Security Act (P.L. 74-271) was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. While initially created to focus on the income needs of retired workers age 65 and older, this program has been amended significantly to add protections for vulnerable populations. Social Security continues to play a key role in preserving the economic security of Americans. About one-in-six Americans receives a Social Security benefit today. For a third of the elderly, Social Security is virtually their only income. Poverty rates among the elderly fell from 35.2 percent in 1959 to less than 10 percent in 2008 -- a reduction of almost three-quarters in the last 49 years. Younger workers and their families receive valuable disability and survivors’ insurance protection. In fact, about one-in-three Social Security beneficiaries is not a retired worker.
According to the 2011 Annual Report of the Social Security Board of Trustees, in calendar year 2010, 54 million retired workers and their families, disabled workers and their families, and survivors of deceased workers received $713 billion in Social Security benefits. By 2035, Social Security costs as a percent of GDP will increase 28 percent, from 4.85 percent of GDP in 2011 to 6.22 percent of GDP in 2035.
The 2011 Annual Report of the Social Security Trustees again highlighted the financing challenges facing the Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) programs. The trustees project permanent and growing cash flow deficits and estimate that by 2036 the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds will be exhausted. At that point, revenues would cover only 77 percent of benefit payments. The DI Trust Fund is projected to become exhausted in 2018, at which time revenues would cover only 86 percent of benefit payments. The Public Trustees expressed the need for action soon in order to be able to protect vulnerable populations and those at or near retirement age.
Concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability of the Medicare and Social Security programs depend on the projected future path of the budget, absent future policy changes. The Medicare and Social Security 2011 Medicare Trustees reports are a warning call - without action, these programs face certain insolvency, and if Congress doesn't act beneficiaries will face benefit cuts or increased costs. Ensuring the financial viability of Medicare and Social Security is one of Congress’ most important responsibilities. Ignoring this problem only makes the solution more painful for future generations of taxpayers and retirees. We must explore ways to avoid massive tax increases and benefit cuts, provide permanent solvency for the program, and maintain the program’s important safety net. However, we must do this while ensuring no changes for those beneficiaries in or near retirement.
Again, thank you for contacting me in regards to this important issue. As Congress continues to work on addressing the solvency and sustainability of these programs, I will keep your thoughts in mind. Please continue to keep me informed about the issues that are important to you and your family, as your input helps me to better serve you as your Representative in Congress.
Sincerely,
Alan Nunnelee
Member of Congress
AN/EJ
Entitlement my arse... I worked 45 years and paid into the system.
grrrrrrrrrr
Medicare covers approximately 48 million persons (40 million aged and 8 million disabled) at a total cost of about $569 billion, accounting for approximately 3.7% of GDP. Medicare is an entitlement program, which means that it is required to pay for covered services provided to eligible persons so long as specific criteria are met.
Since 1965, the Medicare program has undergone considerable change. Most recently during the previous Congress, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), were signed into law. However, in the absence of congressional action, the Medicare program will be unsustainable in the long run. The Part A trust fund has been estimated to become insolvent in 2024. And although the Part B trust fund is financed in large part through federal general revenues and cannot become insolvent, Medicare spending growth will put increasing strains on Congress's competing priorities.
The Social Security Act (P.L. 74-271) was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. While initially created to focus on the income needs of retired workers age 65 and older, this program has been amended significantly to add protections for vulnerable populations. Social Security continues to play a key role in preserving the economic security of Americans. About one-in-six Americans receives a Social Security benefit today. For a third of the elderly, Social Security is virtually their only income. Poverty rates among the elderly fell from 35.2 percent in 1959 to less than 10 percent in 2008 -- a reduction of almost three-quarters in the last 49 years. Younger workers and their families receive valuable disability and survivors’ insurance protection. In fact, about one-in-three Social Security beneficiaries is not a retired worker.
According to the 2011 Annual Report of the Social Security Board of Trustees, in calendar year 2010, 54 million retired workers and their families, disabled workers and their families, and survivors of deceased workers received $713 billion in Social Security benefits. By 2035, Social Security costs as a percent of GDP will increase 28 percent, from 4.85 percent of GDP in 2011 to 6.22 percent of GDP in 2035.
The 2011 Annual Report of the Social Security Trustees again highlighted the financing challenges facing the Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) programs. The trustees project permanent and growing cash flow deficits and estimate that by 2036 the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds will be exhausted. At that point, revenues would cover only 77 percent of benefit payments. The DI Trust Fund is projected to become exhausted in 2018, at which time revenues would cover only 86 percent of benefit payments. The Public Trustees expressed the need for action soon in order to be able to protect vulnerable populations and those at or near retirement age.
Concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability of the Medicare and Social Security programs depend on the projected future path of the budget, absent future policy changes. The Medicare and Social Security 2011 Medicare Trustees reports are a warning call - without action, these programs face certain insolvency, and if Congress doesn't act beneficiaries will face benefit cuts or increased costs. Ensuring the financial viability of Medicare and Social Security is one of Congress’ most important responsibilities. Ignoring this problem only makes the solution more painful for future generations of taxpayers and retirees. We must explore ways to avoid massive tax increases and benefit cuts, provide permanent solvency for the program, and maintain the program’s important safety net. However, we must do this while ensuring no changes for those beneficiaries in or near retirement.
Again, thank you for contacting me in regards to this important issue. As Congress continues to work on addressing the solvency and sustainability of these programs, I will keep your thoughts in mind. Please continue to keep me informed about the issues that are important to you and your family, as your input helps me to better serve you as your Representative in Congress.
Sincerely,
Alan Nunnelee
Member of Congress
AN/EJ
Entitlement my arse... I worked 45 years and paid into the system.
grrrrrrrrrr