What is the Medicare Trust Fund?

Submit a paper that examines the Medicare Trust Fund and its projected solvency. Some key questions to consider:

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• What is the Medicare Trust Fund?
• What is the current state of the fund?
• What are the future challenges faced by the fund? Discuss the factors that have created these challenges.

Your paper should be 3-4 pages in length and conform to APA Writing guidelines. Include at least two scholarly references from peer-reviewed articles.

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• What is the Medicare Trust Fund?

The Medicare trust fund finances health services for beneficiaries of Medicare, a government insurance program for the elderly, the disabled, and people with qualifying health conditions specified by Congress. It is financed by payroll taxes, general tax revenue, and premiums paid by enrollees. The Medicare trust fund comprises two separate funds. The hospital insurance trust fund is financed mainly through payroll taxes on earnings and income taxes on Social Security benefits. The Supplemental Medical Insurance trust fund is financed by general tax revenue and premiums paid by enrollees.

HOSPITAL INSURANCE TRUST FUND
The hospital insurance (HI) trust fund, also known as Part A of Medicare, finances health care services related to stays in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and hospices for eligible beneficiaries, who are mainly people over age 65 with a sufficient history of contributions to the program.

The HI trust fund had receipts of $275 billion and a balance of $205 billion in 2015 (table 1). The fund’s chief revenue sources are payroll taxes and income from the taxation of Social Security benefits. Interest payments on trust fund balances, premiums from voluntary enrollees who are not eligible for Medicare coverage based on their earnings records, transfers from the general fund and the Railroad Retirement account, and miscellaneous receipts supply the remainder of revenues.

SUPPLEMENTAL MEDICAL INSURANCE TRUST FUND
The Supplemental Medical Insurance (SMI) trust fund finances two……