5 findings on Medicare spending, financing

A recent issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation reveals multiple Medicare spending and financing trends.

For the brief, published June 22, Kaiser used the most recent data in the 2018 annual report of the Boards of Medicare Trustees from CMS' actuary office, the 2018 Medicare baseline and projections from the Congressional Budget Office.

Here are five findings:

1. Medicare spending was $591 billion in 2017, or 14.8 percent of total federal spending. The CBO projects those numbers will rise to $1.3 trillion and 17.9 percent, respectively, by 2028.

2. Medicare's actuaries this year projected the Medicare Part A trust fund will be depleted in 2026, three years before its 2017 projection of 2029.

3. Medicare benefit payments for Part A, B and D climbed from $425 billion in 2007 to $702 billion in 2017.

4. Medicare spending per beneficiary grew an average 1.5 percent each year between 2010 and 2017. That compares to average annual growth of 7.3 percent between 2000 and 2010.

5. Medicare spending per beneficiary is projected to grow at 4.6 percent between 2017 and 2027. The issue brief cites various contributing factors to this, including increasing Medicare enrollment, as well as climbing healthcare prices.

Read the full issue brief here.

 

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