Medicare Fund to Fall Short in 2026, Sooner Than Last Forecast
- Trustees report blames fewer taxes collected, higher spending
- Report says Medicare expenditures in 2017 totaled $710 billion
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
The main trust fund behind Medicare, the U.S. health-care program for the elderly and disabled, will be exhausted in 2026, three years earlier than was projected a year ago, the government said Tuesday.
Medicare’s Board of Trustees blamed the earlier depletion forecast on expectations of lower payroll taxes and less revenue from taxing Social Security benefits, both the result of the tax overhaul signed by President Donald Trump last year, according to a senior administration official. Medicare is also expected to spend more than projected last year, the report said.