The Medicare Program is Expected to Run Out of Money in Just Eight Years

By Robert Weiss

Released today, the Medicare Trustee report predicted that the Medicare program is expected to run out of money in just eight years. Medicare, now in its fifth decade, provides health insurance to about 45 million - mostly senior citizens. The Social Security trust fund is expected to run out of money in 2037. Social Security and Medicare are financed primarily by taxes evenly divided between workers and employers that amount to 15.3% of wages. The current economic downturn, which has resulted in the elimination of millions of jobs, has further eroded Medicare.

I, Robert H. Weiss, have written many blogs about the under-funding of pensions and pension fraud around the country – when people retire and see their savings go under water, they look to the safety of Medicare and Social Security to help them weather the storm. With the rising costs of private healthcare insurance, and rising numbers of unemployed Americans, we need to take back control of our country. It is not an excuse to blame the "economic crisis" for losses in Social Security and Medicare benefits. Billions of dollars have gone to banks – it is time we take these dollars back. These are American dollars that belong to American people – not corporations. We must stand up for our rights now. [more...]