I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The health insurance reform law that was enacted in March “substantially improves” the financial outlook of the Medicare program, according to an annual report of the board of trustees established by the Social Security Act to oversee the finances of the program. The 2010 report issued by the Medicare Board of Trustees this week includes a lengthy actuarial analysis, and concludes that the new law extends by 12 years the solvency of Medicare, the federal government’s health insurance program for individuals over the age of 65 and certain individuals under 65 with disabilities.
The findings were lauded by New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman in a statement today.
“We worked very hard to develop a health reform law that strengthens Medicare for America’s seniors. I am glad that the Trustees concluded we took steps in the right direction,” Bingaman said.
Bingaman also pointed out that the report emphasizes that many of the positive impacts of the new law depend on future actions by Congress.
“The Trustees are right to point out that the improvements to Medicare can’t end with the new health insurance reform law. Congress will have to take further steps to extend Medicare’s solvency, thus ensuring seniors continue to have affordable Medicare services for decades to come,” Bingaman was quoted as saying in a news release.
The trustees’ report itself is lengthy, but it succinctly points out that the long range solvency of the Medicare program depends on getting the cost of health care under control. The trustees predict that the Medicare program’s deficit will decrease but only if cost-saving measures contained in the new federal health care law work as expected.
The trustees also cautioned ”that the improved outlook for Medicare hinges on a sustained commitment by the government and the health-care industry to rein in medical costs,” according to the Washington Post.
The paper went on to report:
The Medicare program’s chief actuary was far more skeptical, contending that the report’s predictions “do not represent a reasonable expectation” of its finances. In a two-page letter accompanying the trustees’ report, Richard S. Foster, a non-partisan official who has been the Health and Human Services Department’s top financial expert on Medicare for 15 years, said he doubted that health-care providers will become as efficient as the new law envisions.
The report states that innovative new methods of delivering and paying for health care have to be found, and notes that the new law includes a major new program of research and development, which could lead to new methods. It also states that the figures in the report are based on current law provisions that are designed to reduce costs, and particularly notes that Congress continues to override the statutory decreases in Medicare payments to physicians, which could add to the program’s deficit.
