Description: Overview of Medicare's 1979 financial projections under optimistic, pessimistic, and intermediate assumptions, for the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance programs.

Description: Over the last year or two, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of U.S. news topics that involve actuarial thinking such as Obama-care and long-term health of Social Security. While it is a nice feeling to see actuaries at the center of the action, much, or even most of the debate is conducted without any understanding of the actuarial concepts involved. This article is about the challenge of actuaries educating the public on these issues, especially when the profession is still working hard to bring its communication skills up to the level of its technical expertise.