Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act would make wealthiest Americans pay fairer share to protect solvency of bedrock health care and retirement programs
Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA) today reintroduced the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act to protect the future solvency of Medicare and Social Security by reversing inequities in the tax system so the nation’s highest earners contribute their fair share. The bicameral legislation would extend Social Security and Medicare solvency by at least 75 years – the furthest allowable projection period – according to analyses from the actuaries of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Social Security Administration.
“Working-class seniors pay into Social Security and Medicare their whole careers so they can enjoy a dignified retirement, but they end up paying a much larger share of their income in taxes than billionaires because the tax code is rigged in favor of the rich,” said Senator Whitehouse. “As the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans gear up to deliver budget-busting giveaways for their billionaire donors, I will continue pushing to make our tax code fair and protect these twin pillars of retirement security as far as the eye can see.”
“From my first day in Congress, I’ve pledged to protect the long-term stability of Social Security and Medicare—two bedrock promises our country made to seniors, workers, and people with disabilities,” said Congressman Boyle, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee. “Now, with Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE-fueled billionaires openly attacking these programs, that fight is more urgent than ever. This bill would protect Social Security and Medicare for generations by making the wealthiest Americans pay what they owe. While Republicans are pushing a $7 trillion tax giveaway to the ultra-rich, we’re working to protect the benefits that millions of Americans have earned—and we won’t let them be stolen to fund another billionaire windfall.”
Medicare and Social Security are twin pillars of economic fairness and retirement security, providing lifelines to elderly Americans and their children, and disabled workers. In 2022, Social Security alone lifted 28.9 million Americans out of poverty, and nearly half of seniors live in households that receive at least 50 percent of their family income from Social Security benefits that they have earned after a lifetime of work. Medicare protects its over 65 million beneficiaries from potentially catastrophic health care costs.
Despite the bedrock importance of these programs, both are at risk of being unable to fully pay out benefits within the next 15 years. Without new revenue, the Hospital Insurance trust fund and the Old Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund are expected to become insolvent in 2036 and 2033, respectively.
The bicameral legislation would:
- Preserve Medicare and Social Security while safeguarding benefits.
- Significantly extend Social Security and Medicare solvency by at least 75 years, according to analyses from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary and the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Chief Actuary.
- Require taxpayers with over $400,000 in income to contribute a fairer share to Social Security.
- Lift the Social Security tax cap to ensure that no matter the source of their income, high-income taxpayers would pay the same tax rate on their income exceeding that threshold.
- Require taxpayers with incomes above $400,000 to contribute more to Medicare.
- Increase the rate for income above $400,000 by 1.2 percent, and ensure that wealthy owners of pass-through businesses like hedge funds and private equity firms with more than $400,000 in annual income cannot avoid Medicare taxes.
Joining Whitehouse and Boyle on the bill as original cosponsors are Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
The bill has been endorsed by Alliance for Retired Americans, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Tax Fairness, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Communications Workers of America, Doctors for America, Families USA, Groundwork Collaborative, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Main Street Alliance, Mary’s Center, MomsRising, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National Council on Aging, National Education Association, National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, People’s Action, Public Citizen, Revolving Door Project, Social Security Works, and Teamsters.
Full text of the bill is available here.
