Statement by Mary R. Grealy, President, Healthcare Leadership Council on the 2014 Medicare Trustees Report

“This should not be taken by policymakers as a rationale for complacency or inaction.”

“It is welcome news that Medicare’s insolvency date, according to the Trustees’ projections, has been moved to 2030, but this should not be taken by policymakers as a rationale for complacency or inaction.

“There is a lack of consensus as to the reason for the lower per-capita spending rates we’ve seen of late in the Medicare program, but there is an inarguable recognition that Medicare’s greatest challenges lie ahead with the aging of the population, projected rises in chronic disease rates and increased utilization of health services.

“The longer Washington waits to place Medicare on a sound, sustainable financial path, the more difficult the task will be. Ideas are at hand awaiting debate and action. Just last September, the Congressional Budget Office analyzed reforms that could reduce costs for both beneficiaries and the Medicare program as a whole. The Medicare Trustees report must be viewed not as an endorsement of the status quo, but rather as a call to take action to preserve Medicare for future generations of beneficiaries.”