Medicare funding woes.(Policy & Practice)(Brief article)

The first-ever "Medicare funding warning" was issued by the program's trustees in their annual report, which requires the President to propose funding reforms within 15 days of submission of the fiscal 2008 budget and Congress to address the proposal on an "expedited basis." The warning--mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003--was triggered by the fact that for the second consecutive year, more than 45% of next year's projected total Medicare outlays will come from general government revenues. In their report, the Medicare trustees noted that higher tax revenues and lower projected benefit payouts have extended by 1 year the date that the Medicare Hospital …