Medicare Strengthened by Health Care Reform, Trustees Say

Medicare is in better financial shape because of new health care reforms, which are expected to extend the life of the health benefits program by 12 years, a new report says.

The report -- authored each year by the trustees charged with monitoring the solvency of Social Security and Medicare -- projected that Medicare's hospital trust fund will remain solvent through 2029 – a dozen years longer than the same group projected a year ago.

Nonetheless, the projection falls short of what many Democrats predicted when championing the reform bill last year, and it also assumes Medicare physicians will take a 21 percent pay cut this fall -- a controversial change that may not happen.

The report also predicts that the Social Security trust fund will shrink enough by 2037 that it will not be able to pay retirees full benefits, according to the Washington Post.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner conceded Thursday that "there is still work to be done" on both fronts.

The solvency of both Medicare and Social Security are being stressed by an aging baby-boom generation, increased longevity and the rapidly rising cost of medical care.