The future of Medicare is at risk.  Each year, alarm bells are sounded that unless real reform is undertaken then this program will cease to exist for America’s seniors.  In fact, it is the single greatest contributor to our debt and if we are to tackle our runaway debt then Medicare must be on the table to ensure Medicare isn’t just another empty Washington promise. 

Doing nothing is to condemn the program to bankruptcy, the seniors who rely on it to uncertainty, and our debt to continue to skyrocket.  The fact is that Medicare spending is only going up.  In 2021, net Medicare spending will be nearly $821 billion with inflation of 7 percent.  This program is already spending more than it is taking in, and in 2024 the Medicare trust fund will be entirely out of money. 

One of the most misleading arguments in favor of the $2.6 trillion health care  law was that ‘health care reform is Medicare reform.’  The proponents of that law claimed that the money went to “shore-up” Medicare, while it was really being used to fund a new unsustainable entitlement. 

Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse is only a start.  Members of both parties are going to have to get serious about modernizing and reforming this program.  The solution can’t be dictated from Washington bureaucrats stifling the innovation that has been a hallmark of our nation.  Medicare reform is going to requirement more, not less, patient empowerment and greater choice for seniors.