In view of the limited time available to hear from witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.

BACKGROUND:
The Social Security Act requires the Board of Trustees for the Medicare program to report annually to the Congress on the current and projected financial condition of the Medicare Hospital Insurance (HI) and the Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) trust funds.  The trustees, who are designated in statute, are the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Commissioner of Social Security.  Additionally, the statute requires that there be two public trustees, from different political parties, who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate for four-year terms.  The CMS Office of the Actuary is responsible for preparing the report.  The 2011 report was released on May 13, 2011, and can be found at https://www.cms.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/downloads/tr2011.pdf.  The Medicare actuaries subsequently released an alternative scenario memorandum, based on what actions they expect Congress to take (such as preventing cuts to Medicare physician payment rates) to “present an alternative scenario to help illustrate and quantify the potential magnitude of the cost understatement under current law.”  That memo can be found at http://www.cms.gov/ReportsTrustFunds/Downloads/2011TRAlternativeScenario.pdf.

Ensuring the financial viability of Social Security and Medicare is one of Congress’ most important responsibilities.  The annual release of the trustees’ reports provides Congress with a valuable update on the programs’ fiscal status and important information with respect to projections of future expenditures.

The trustees currently predict the Medicare HI trust fund will go bankrupt in 2024, five years earlier than they estimated in last year’s report.  Additionally, this was the sixth consecutive report in which the Medicare trustees issued a “Medicare funding warning” because they project “excess general revenue Medicare funding,” as defined by a provision contained in Public Law 108-173.

The trustees project Medicare spending to grow from 3.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010 to 6.2 percent of GDP in 2085, or to 10.7 percent of GDP in 2085 under their alternative scenario.

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Herger stated, “The findings of the Medicare trustees are alarming.  Medicare’s Hospital Insurance trust fund is expected to go bankrupt five years sooner than last year and was forced to redeem $32.3 billion in bonds last year so that it could pay medical claims. It is critical that the American people understand just how dire Medicare’s finances are.”

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on Medicare’s financial situation as detailed by the 2011 Medicare Trustees report.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:Please Note: Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms. From the Committee homepage, https://waysandmeans.house.gov, select “Hearings.”  Select the hearing for which you would like to submit, and click on the link entitled, “Click here to provide a submission for the record.”  Once you have followed the online instructions, submit all requested information.  ATTACH your submission as a Word document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by the close of business on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.  Finally, please note that due to the change in House mail policy, the U.S. Capitol Police will refuse sealed-package deliveries to all House Office Buildings.  For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-1721 or (202) 225-3625.

FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.  As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee.  The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines.  Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any supplementary materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below.  Any submission or supplementary item not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.

1. All submissions and supplementary materials must be provided in Word format and MUST NOT exceed a total of 10 pages, including attachments. Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
   
   
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased.  All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
   
   
3. All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.  A supplemental sheet must accompany each submission listing the name, company, address, telephone, and fax numbers of each witness.