Last Updated: 2009-05-12 16:26:45 -0400 (Reuters Health)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economic recession has taken a toll on the financial strength of Social Security and Medicare retirement and health programs for the elderly, a government report released on Tuesday showed.
A report by the trustees of those two programs said the Social Security trust fund will be exhausted by 2037, four years earlier than previously, and the Medicare hospital trust fund will become insolvent by 2017, two years earlier than previously estimated.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the report shows the urgency for the government to tackle an overhaul of the two programs to help contain rising costs as the baby-boom generation begins to retire and take advantage of the programs.
"The earlier we as a nation commit to working together to make the difficult but achievable changes needed to strengthen the solvency of Medicare and Social Security, ... the sooner we will be able to ensure that these vital programs will be as important for generations to come as they are now," Geithner said.
Dr. Sears comments:
The longer the recession goes on, the faster these funds will be depleted. With new deficit spending, it is likely that the Medicare fund will be gone by 2012, just in time for a new election.