FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Monday, April 23, 2007
CONTACT: Yoni Cohen, (202) 225-3202

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), Chairman of the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, today issued the following statement in response to the 2007 report of the Board of Trustees of the Medicare Trust Fund.

"Reports of Medicare’s death have been greatly exaggerated," said Stark. "Despite Republican efforts to set the stage for the program’s privatization, this year’s Trustees report shows that Medicare remains solvent and sustainable."

"The trigger is an arbitrary threshold designed to scare people into thinking we can't afford to continue Medicare as an entitlement. The fact is that we can't afford not to," Stark continued.

"Since creating Medicare, Congress has regularly modified and modernized the program to accommodate advances in medicine and to meet the demands of a growing population. I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure Medicare's viability for future generations," Stark concluded.

Below are several links that provide useful information for individuals analyzing the Trustees report. Solvency remains strong by historical standards.

A fact sheet on the findings of the 2007 Trustees Reports (pdf):

http://www.house.gov/stark/news/110th/pressreleases/20070423/report.pdf

A fact sheet on the “trigger” (pdf):

http://www.house.gov/stark/news/110th/pressreleases/20070423/factsheet.pdf

Medicare solvency since 1970 (table pdf):

http://www.house.gov/stark/news/110th/pressreleases/20070423/solvencytable.pdf