The 2022 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds was recently released. Each year, Medicare Trustees must submit a report to Congress regarding trust funds for Part A which is the Hospital Insurance Fund.
Key highlights from the report include:
- The Part A trust fund will be partially depleted in 2028, which is two years later than what was projected in last year’s report
- Contributing causes to the extended solvency include lower-than-expected spending and an increase in deaths among the Medicare population
- The pandemic has affected spending, deaths, and Medicare income
- The economic recovery from the pandemic has resulted in increased funding from higher tax revenue and other sources
It is important for Medicare to implement measures to extend the Hospital Insurance Fund such as slowing the growth of costs, increasing revenues, lowering prescription drug prices, filling gaps in coverage, and improving access to low-income assistance programs.
To learn more, visit https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2022-medicare-trustees-report.pdf.