what is the hospital insurance trust fund 
the federal hospital insurance trust fund is also known as part a of medicare the health insurance program for people aged 65 and older in the united states the program is financed through payroll taxes from current workers and employers and taxes on social security benefits 1this trust fund is overseen by a board of trustees that reports annually regarding its financial status 2 due to changes in legislation and demographics in the united states the fund is projected to be depleted in 2031 3understanding the hospital insurance trust fundthe hospital insurance trust is funded by revenue from social security benefits and payroll taxes from all workers in the united states not just from beneficiaries 1 the program is something all workers pay into and then benefit from when they reach retirement age or are unable to work due to disability medicare part a helps pay for inpatient hospital services hospice care skilled nursing facility and home health services medicare benefitsmanaged by the u s government the federal hospital insurance trust fund or medicare part a pays for healthcare services like hospital stays and hospice care for medicare recipients 4 medicare is a government funded health insurance program for those 65 and older disabled people and people with certain health conditions specified by the government 5medicare parts b c and d pay for healthcare services not covered by the hospital insurance trust fund such as doctor visits lab tests and prescription drugs and are funded through premium payments from beneficiaries 1567the initial enrollment period to apply for medicare lasts for seven months starting three months before enrollees turn 65 and ending three months after the month they turn 65 8funding the hospital insurance trust fundanalysts are concerned that the u s economy will not support the hospital trust within medicare in the future because of changes in population demographics as the birth rate decreases and people live longer 9according to the 2023 report from the social security and medicare boards of trustees it is projected that the hospital insurance trust fund will be able to pay 100 of total scheduled benefits until 2031 after which the fund s reserves will be depleted and continuing program income will be sufficient to pay 89 of benefits 10the estimates are based on several factors including utilization rates of skilled nursing facilities overall levels of worker productivity and recent trends in healthcare costs relative to individual incomes 