Fact Check: Examining Republican Stances on Medicare and Social Security Funding
Half True
Some Republicans have spoken in favor of increasing the retirement age to maintain the solvency of Social Security and Medicare and others have opposed it, but there is no official party consensus on the policy.
Medicare and Social Security are health and social insurance programs primarily serving older Americans. A plan proposed by Senator Rick Scott last year included reapproving the programs every five years, making their long-term continuation uncertain. There has been renewed discussion, primarily by Republicans, to alter Medicare and Social Security requirements by raising the retirement age to 70. This would reduce the number of people eligible to receive full Social Security benefits and coverage by Medicare. The cost of the programs would be cut down by disqualifying individuals who would have been previously eligible. However, participation in the programs, and their subsequent costs, would still grow because of the increasing life expectancy of those who reach retirement age and workers retiring earlier at an average age of 61.
The Social Security Act of 1935 established a social insurance program for retired workers after they reached 65 to provide a stable income after retirement. The Social Security program was modified in 1965 with the addition of Medicare, which would provide health insurance for most Americans after they turned 65. Over time, the program has expanded to cover younger Americans with disabilities and Americans with end-stage renal disease. Congress amended Social Security in 1983 to gradually increase the retirement age to 67 with the justification that life expectancy had increased. The age for Medicare eligibility remains 65.
Payroll taxes primarily fund Social Security; 90% of its funding came from this source in 2021. Medicare received 46% of its funding from general revenues and 34% from payroll taxes in 2021. There is broad consensus among federal policymakers that the long-term solvency of both programs is at risk because of rising outlays that cannot keep up with revenues. In their 2023 annual fiscal budget, The Republican Study Committee, a caucus of 173 congressional Republicans, proposed increasing the retirement age for Social Security to maintain its long-term continuation. The report was created and signed by most members of the committee’s Budget & Spending Task Force. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stated in a recent interview about raising the debt ceiling that cuts to Social Security and Medicare are “off the table,” including raising the retirement age. Independent Senator Angus King and Republican Senator Bill Cassidy have considered raising the age to 70 in their efforts to reform Social Security. Most congressional Democrats and President Biden oppose retirement age increases and instead suggest taxes for high earners to fund Medicare and Social Security. However, these plans do not guarantee solvency for either program or address Medicare’s growing dependency on general revenues.
Most Americans, especially older Americans, oppose increasing the Social Security and Medicare retirement age. Some Republicans have spoken in favor of increasing the retirement age to maintain the solvency of the programs, and others have opposed it. Still, there is no official party consensus on the policy.
Thus, the claim that Republicans want to cut Medicare and other social security services funding is Half True.
References and Further Reading
Desifacts.org. Claim: Senator Rick Scott’s Rescue America Plan puts Medicare and Social Security on the Chopping Block. 2 November 2022.
Aimee Picchi. CBS News. Republicans want to push Social Security, Medicare eligibility age to 70. 9 November 2022.
Congressional Budget Office. Raise the Age of Eligibility for Medicare to 67. 13 December 2018.
David C. Wittenburg, David C. Stapleton, and Scott B. Scrivner. Social Security Bulletin. How Raising the Age of Eligibility for Social Security and Medicare Might Affect the Disability Insurance and Medicare Programs. 2000.
Philip Bump. The Washington Post. Raising the retirement age would only delay the deluge. 28 February 2023.
Social Security Administration. Historical Background And Development Of Social Security.
Social Security Administration. Increase in Retirement Age.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Original Medicare (Part A and B) Eligibility and Enrollment. 26 January 2023.
Social Security Administration. How is Social Security financed?
Juliette Cubanski and Tricia Neuman. Kaiser Family Foundation. FAQs on Medicare Financing and Trust Fund Solvency. 17 June 2022.
Congressional Budget Office. CBO’s 2022 Long-Term Projections for Social Security. 16 December 2022.
Republican Study Committee. RSC Blueprint to Save America. 2023.
CBS News. Transcript: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on "Face the Nation," Jan. 29, 2023. 29 January 2023.
Joseph Zeballos-Roig. Semafor. A bipartisan group of Senators is talking about raising the retirement age on Social Security. 28 February 2023.
Kim Parker, Rich Morin, and Juliana Menasce Horowitz. Pew Research Center. 4. Retirement, Social Security and long-term care. 21 March 2019.
