Changes in tax law aren't helping Medicare

Is Medicare going broke? That scary thought raced through the media a few weeks ago when the program’s trustees issued their annual report to Congress.

The media reported the “news” in its predictable fashion; painting a bleak picture of the program some 59 million older and disabled Americans depend on for their health care. Every year the media fail to give the full or nuanced picture of what’s happening, instead opting for dramatic headlines announcing the program is broke. This year is no different.

“Medicare is not going broke,” Tricia Neuman, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Fo...