1. 21750 POINTS
    Jim Winkler
    CEO/Owner, Winkler Financial Group, Houston, Texas
    That is an excellent question!! Medicare is managed by a department of the Federal Government called the CMS - the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It falls under the wing of the Department of Health and Human Services, and it manages the trust funds that fuel Medicare and Medicaid. There are two trust funds - one that is funded by payroll taxes, and by other taxes, investments, and earned interest. The other one is funded by Congress, premiums paid on Medicare B and D, investments and interest earned. Congressional cuts to the programs have hurt one fund, and the one that is funded by the payroll taxes is in danger of becoming underfunded within the next 20 years (2029, last estimate, with the additional funds culled from excesses in the program recaptured by the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare - without them, 2024) because the workforce is steadily shrinking ( less collected tax) as the number of senior citizens eligible for Medicare and Medicaid increases (approximately 10,000 people turn 65 daily). It doesn't help that the Government in the past has raided the Social Security and Medicare trusts to fund other things that they felt were more important. I hope that that answers your question, if you would like more detail give me a buzz, and I'll give you more. Thank you for asking!
    Answered on May 21, 2014
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