WASHINGTON (AP) - The annual checkup of the government's big
benefit programs for the elderly showed that the administration's
sweeping health care overhaul will extend the life of the Medicare
hospital insurance fund by 12 years.
But officials are cautioning that the dramatic gain will depend
on achieving significant savings in health care in coming years.
The annual trustees report for Medicare and Social Security
shows that the Medicare Hospital trust fund will not be exhausted
until 2029, 12 years longer than estimated last year. That
improvement was credited to the cost savings that will occur with
the passage earlier this year of health care reform.
The trustees say the recession has made the outlook for the
Social Security trust fund worse in the near term, however.

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