March 23, 2005 – The Medicare Trustees Report was issued today and shows that the financial condition of Medicare's hospital fund has improved slightly and the report also highlights the importance of using the new Medicare law to help reduce the spending growth in other parts of Medicare. The Medicare program is the second-largest social insurance program in the United States, with 42 million beneficiaries, primarily senior citizens 65 and older, and total expenditures of $309 billion in 2004 but the report says it will be insolvent by 2020.