The team in charge of monitoring Medicare’s solvency kept its projection that the Part A trust fund’s reserves will run out in 2026, although the COVID-19 pandemic could speed that up. That prediction is unchanged from the trustees’ past two annual reports to Congress. Medicare covered about 62 million Americans last year. The 2020 report has an elephant in the room: It doesn’t factor in the effects of COVID-19 on Medicare spending. Senior administration officials acknowledged the global pandemic will “no question” have a negative effect on the reserve funds of both Medicare and Social Security. The 2026 projection for the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, which pays for Part A inpatient hospital expenses, assumes intermediate spending. In a high-cost environment, that reserve would run out by 2023, a senior official said on a background call with reporters Wednesday.
Read the full article: COVID-19 Could Cause Medicare Reserves to Run out before 2026 //
Source: https://www.modernhealthcare.com/government/covid-19-could-cause-medicare-reserves-run-out-2026