New York Times Opinion
By Paul Krugman-Opinion Columnist
Last Friday the Medicare trustees released their latest report on the system’s finances, and it contained some unexpected good news:Expenditures are running below projections, and the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund won’t be exhausted as soon as previously predicted.
But one important reason for this financial improvement was grisly: Covid killed a substantial number of Medicare beneficiaries. And thevictims were disproportionately seniors already suffering from severe — and expensive — health problems. “As a result, the survivingpopulation had spending that was lower than average.”