Key Medicare Fund Will Be Insolvent in Just Five Years

Five years.

That's how long until Medicare officially can't pay all of its bills, according to the latest report on the program's fiscal health. After that, without changes, the program will start to miss payments. Medicare is on track for a serious fiscal meltdown. 

First, the gory details: Starting in 2026, the program's Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which covers a variety of inpatient hospital services, will be depleted, leaving the fund to operate on a cash-flow basis—and there won't be enough cash coming into the program to pay all of the...