Will Medicare be there for younger generations when they turn sixty-five? Despite the good news that the Part D drug benefit is more popular and less expensive than originally projected, Medicare financing is under growing pressure as increasing numbers of beneficiaries use more--and more expensive--care. The Medicare trustees sounded a "funding warning" last year, indicating that program spending has risen faster than dedicated revenue. The warning required the president to submit special legislation to address the fiscal problem. Reaction from the Hill has been lukewarm at best. Will the trustees issue another funding warning this year? Will actions by Congress in an election year ease or exacerbate the program's fiscal troubles? What is the outlook for more fundamental reform of Medicare?

The annual Medicare trustees' report, to be released March 25, provides the latest assessment of Medicare's fiscal future. Richard Foster, Medicare’s chief actuary, will present this year's findings. Gail Wilensky, former Medicare administrator; Robert Bixby, Concord Coalition and coordinator of the Fiscal Wake-Up Tour; and AEI's Joseph Antos, a former official at the Congressional Budget Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will discuss the policy challenges facing the program.