Congressional Republicans want to create yet another commission to recommend ways to cut Social Security and Medicare under the guise of “saving” those programs. We’ve had similar commissions over the years, but Republicans need another one to provide excuses for cutting your benefits further. This will be a complete waste of time and resources. Here’s why.
Social Security consists of two trust funds – OASI (Old Age and Survivors Insurance) and DI (Disability Insurance). Medicare consists of two others – HI (Hospital Insurance – Part A) and SMI (Supplemental Medical Insurance – Parts B and D). Every year, the government reports on the looming insolvency of OASI, DI and HI, but SMI is always given a clean bill of health. Here’s how they put it in 2020:
“The SMI trust fund differs from the HI trust fund in that most of its … income is in the form of transfers from the general fund of the Treasury, which are automatically adjusted to cover the differences between the program’s spending and specified revenues. … Thus, the balance in the SMI fund cannot be exhausted.”
In other words, the law establishing SMI ensured that it would always be able to pay benefits. In a day, Congress could change the laws regarding the other three funds and permanently eliminate any risk of insolvency.
If you rely or someday will rely on these programs, contact your representatives and demand they change the law to permanently protect them. Ask your friends to do the same.
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