In the News
SOCIAL SECURITY FINANCES WEAKENED OVER PAST YEAR
The day Social Security would no longer be able to pay full benefits to older Americans who count on the program was moved ahead one year—to 2034—in the annual report by the trustees who oversee the funds.
Unless Congress acts to shore up the system, those drawing retirement, survivor and disability payments from Social Security would see their benefits cut by 20 percent that year, the trustees say.
The news was better for those who use basic Medicare. That program’s trust fund to cover Part A hospital benefits will last until 2031, three years longer than estimated in last year’s trustee report.
$2.83 trillion
surplus in the Social Security system at the end of 2022
The gloomier forecast for Social Security is based on trustees anticipating slower growth in the economy for the next decade, which would mean fewer payroll tax dollars flowing into the trust fund that pays out benefits.
“Today’s Social Security and Medicare trustees’ reports reinforce that while they are financially strong today, both programs face long-term funding needs,” AARP Chief Executive Officer Jo Ann Jenkins said in a statement. “Congress must act to find solutions to ensure Social Security and Medicare will be there for the next generation and into the future.”
At the end of 2022, the Social Security system had a $2.83 trillion surplus, according to the report, built up over decades when incoming revenue exceeded outgoing benefit payments.
But the balance has shifted in recent years, with the ranks of retirees growing faster than the working population and people living longer. To cover benefits, Social Security has begun dipping into the trust fund surplus and will exhaust it in 11 years, according to the new report.
That doesn’t mean benefit payments would stop, but they would be funded only by each year’s tax revenue. The trustees estimate that would cover about 80 percent of benefit payments.
The Congressional Budget Office, which also tracks Social Security’s fiscal health, posted an even more sobering prediction in December, saying full benefits would only last until 2033.
To avoid a shortfall, Congress would have to take steps over the next decade by cutting benefits, raising taxes, redirecting other revenue into the program or using a combination of those measures.
That doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon. President Joe Biden and Republican leaders in Congress agreed to take Social Security and Medicare cuts off the table in negotiations over raising the nation’s debt ceiling.
Organ Transplant System to Be Restructured
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT says it will overhaul the way lifesaving kidneys, livers and other organs reach people in need, a system plagued with long wait lists, accusations of arbitrary access and organs that were damaged or lost in transit.
The plan, announced in late March, will more than double the funding for the transplant system to $67 million, strengthen accountability and transparency, and increase competition for contracts to carry on the work, officials say.
The changes offer hope to more than 100,000 Americans on waiting lists for organ transplants, of whom more than 25 percent are 65-plus.
About 17 people die every day in the U.S. while waiting for a transplant.
“This is hugely important for older Americans,” says Seth Karp, M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has controlled the transplant system under a federal contract since 1986.
The agency came under fire last year during a hearing by the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) cited a statistic that UNOS is “15 times more likely to lose or damage an organ in transit as an airline is to lose or damage your luggage.”
“Many of us believe that the deaths and the waiting are really unnecessary and reflect poor performance by the contractor over many years,” Karp says.
The new plan calls for the federal government to break up the transplant network and allow other organizations to bid on different duties of the system, such as matching organs to patients.
Diabetes Drugs That Cause Weight Loss in Short Supply
Type 2 diabetes drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro
THE FOOD AND DRUG Administration is tracking shortages of drugs approved to treat type 2 diabetes as more people turn to them as quick-fix weight-loss remedies.
The drugs are effective—causing users to lose 5 to 15 percent of their body weight. But health professionals warn that taking these drugs if you don’t need them could be costly and cause some unpleasant side effects.
Semaglutide, marketed as Ozempic, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, can cost as much as $1,000 a month. Many Medicare Part D plans cover the drugs for their intended use—treating type 2 diabetes—but not to treat obesity alone.
The drugs help the pancreas release the right amount of insulin and also slow digestion and help the brain control hunger and cravings. But they were never meant as a quick way to lose weight, medical professionals say. Stopping the medication will cause you to regain the weight you lost.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK
AN AP-NORC nationwide poll in March found that a clear majority of Americans—6 in 10—felt the federal government was spending too much money. But 62 percent said too little was being spent on Social Security, and 58 percent said the same about Medicare.