; (2) States should determine the parameters of acceptable private insurance plans based on the needs of their populations and retain control over other health care coverage standards; (3) reforms should protect patients with pre-existing conditions, reward those who maintain continuous health coverage, and create greater parity between benefits offered through employers and those offered independently; (4) States should have greater flexibility in designing their Medicaid program and State Children’s Health Insurance Program; (5) medical malpractice reform should emphasize compliance with best practice guidelines, while continuing to protect patients’ interests; and (6) States should have the flexibility to implement medical liability policies to best suit their needs. 511. Policy statement on Medicare (a) Findings The House finds the following: (1) More than 57 million Americans depend on Medicare for their health security. (2) The Medicare Trustees Report has repeatedly recommended that Congress address Medicare’s long-term financial challenges. Each year without reform, the financial condition of Medicare becomes more precarious and the threat to those in or near retirement more pronounced. The current challenges that Congress will need to address include— (A) the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will be exhausted in 2029 and unable to pay the scheduled benefits; (B) Medicare enrollment is expected to increase more than 50 percent in the next two decades, as 10,000 baby boomers reach retirement age each day; (C) due to extended life spans, enrollees remain in Medicare three times longer than at the outset of the program five decades ago; (D) notwithstanding the program’s trust fund arrangement, current workers’ payroll tax contributions pay for current Medicare beneficiaries instead of being set aside for their own future use; (E) the number of workers supporting each beneficiary continues to fall; in 1965, the ratio was 4.5 workers per beneficiary, and by 2030, the ratio will be only 2.4 workers per beneficiary