Medicare plays a vital role in keeping medical care affordable for our nation's seniors, and its importance is only expected to grow in the coming decades. The program's heightened importance can be traced to two ongoing trends.

Medicare's growing importance for older Americans

First, we have a major demographic shift under way as baby boomers leave the workforce and become eligible for Medicare at age 65. There are more than 70 million baby boomers, which means the number of eligible beneficiaries in Medicare is set to explode. Mind you, these beneficiaries are also living longer than ever, too.