The Medicare Board of Trustees, which was established under the Social Security Act to oversee the Hospital Insurance (HI) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Funds, is made up of six members. Four of the trustees are automatically board members because of their positions with the federal government: the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Commissioner of Social Security.
The other two trustees are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate as public representatives. The current public representatives on the Board of Trustees are Charles P. Blahous and Robert D. Reischauer; both Blahous and Reischauer have served as trustees since September 2010. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) administrator is Secretary of the Board. The Social Security Act requires the trustees to issue a report to Congress annually on the financial and actuarial status of the Medicare trust funds.
As of 2013, in addition to Blahous and Reischauer, the Medicare trustees are Jacob Lew, Secretary of the Treasury and Managing Trustee; Seth D. Harris is the Acting Secretary of Labor; Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security; and CMS Administrator Marilyn B. Tavenner is the Board of Trustees Secretary.
