Hospitals are committed to expanding health coverage and building a better delivery system, but swelling the rolls of the underfunded Medicare program is not the way to achieve this goal, AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock said in a USA Today opinion piece. "Imagine living in a house with a crumbling foundation and trying to repair it by adding more bedrooms," he wrote. Senate leaders are considering replacing the public health insurance option in their health reform legislation with a provision allowing millions between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy into Medicare, a program that pays hospitals less than the actual cost of care. According to estimates released last week by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee, hospitals' Medicare margins dropped to an historic low of negative 7.2% in 2008. "Making millions of non-seniors eligible for Medicare, at the same time that millions more Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, will further weaken the program and put many hospitals at tremendous risk," Umbdenstock said.