Medicare is going bankrupt again! (and again, and again, and again . . .)

by David Safier

The year Medicare was supposed to go bankrupt was 1976, and 1985, and 1989, and 1992, and 1998, and 2000, and 2002. Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune has a long string of quotes from our top national papers predicting the imminent demise of Medicare.

You can follow the link to read all of them. Here are a few:

Washington Post,March 6, 1983: Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici warned the nation's governors the other day, "Medicare can be bankrupt in 2 1/2 years," unless some way is found to put the brakes on its burgeoning costs.

Chicago Tribune, March 10 1984: To avert Medicare’s expected insolvency,  a  federal advisory council proposed Friday raising the eligibility age to 67, taxing employer paid health insurance benefits and boosting the tax on alcohol and tobacco…   the Congressional Budget Office said Medicare may be insolvent in 1989

Chicago Tribune February 6, 1985:   Medicare is still expected to go bankrupt in 1991, and a new flood of red tape is not helping America's hospitals.

New York Times, May 22, 1988: Reflecting the view of the Reagan Administration, Dr. William L. Roper, the head of the Federal Medicare and Medicaid agency, said, ''With the Medicare Trust Fund expected to go insolvent shortly after 2000, it is hard for us to sign on for a major expansion of the Medicare program beyond the catastrophic care bill.''

Chicago Tribune, January 7, 1999: [The National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare]  was created in 1997 to deal with Medicare's projected bankruptcy in 2008.

We could have ended Medicare as we know it back then, like today's Republicans are proposing, instead of making the necessary adjustments to keep the vital program running. Instead, we've continued to insure the health of our senior citizens. Sometimes we get it right. Not perfect, but right.

(h/t to Joan McCarter on Kos for the link.)