and administrator slavitt as well. we're celebrating some important milestones this year. next month it will be 50 years since the first medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in the program. in january of last year we marked 75 years since the first monthly social security check was issued. it's no accident that a portrait of an architect of social security, labor secretary francis perkins, hangs in my office right behind my desk. because she was the gold standard for all of us who've had the honor to serve in this position. and if secretary perkins could see her program today, she would marvel at its growth. in the decades since it was signed into law, social security as well as medicare have become the cornerstones of our retirement he security policy. they are the heart of the basic bargain in america. if you work hard and take responsibility, you can enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. over the years the american public has grown to rely on the trust that social security and medicare are the most stable and comprehensive social safety net programs available to almo

secretary colvin, always a pleasure to be with you, administrator slavitt as well. we're celebrating important milestones this year. next month it will be 50 years since the first medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in the program. in january of last year we marked 75 years since the first monthly social security check was issued. it's no accident that a portrait of an architect of social security, labor secretary francis perkins, enhancing in my office right behind my desk, because she was the gold standard for all of us who had the honor to serve in this position. and if secretary perkins could see her program today, she would marvel at its growth in the decades since it was signed into law. social security as well as medicare have become the cornerstones of our retirement security policy. they are at the heart of the basic bargain in america. if you work hard and take responsibility, you can enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. over the years the american public has grown to rely on the trust that social security and medicare are the most stable and comprehe

and administrator slavitt as well. we're celebrating some important milestones this year.t month it will be 50 years since the first medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in the program. in january of last year we marked 75 years since the first monthly social security check was issued. it's no accident that a portrait of an architect of social security, labor secretary francis perkins, hangs in my office right behind my desk. because she was the gold standard for all of us who've had the honor to serve in this position. and if secretary perkins could see her program today, she would marvel at its growth. in the decades since it was signed into law, social security as well as medicare have become the cornerstones of our retirement he security policy. they are the heart of the basic bargain in america. if you work hard and take responsibility, you can enjoy a secure and dignified retirement. over the years the american public has grown to rely on the trust that social security and medicare are the most stable and comprehensive social safety net programs available to almost a

for administrator slavitt, if there's a slowdown in medicare costs, and you're seeing that, and it's factored into your assumptions, then why has the insolvency date of the trust fund moved up by two years? >> sure, ricardo, thanks. i would remind us, just a short time ago we were looking at a date of 2017, which is next year. so we are substantially ahead thanks to the affordable care act. and i would also remind us that, as i said in my opening remarks, costs are actually lower than they were estimated to be this year. and they remain at historically low levels. i think there are two assumptions that drove the depletion date change that were i think quite modest. even modest assumptions sometimes have that level of impact. the first, there's a light reduction in the assumption of payroll taxes. and the second is a slower rate of reduction in inpatient utilization. so the good news is, inpatient utilization is still declining. it's just declining at a slightly lower rate. >> our last question. go ahead. >> paul krauzak, "roll call." could you please explain what happens with the ipa