(Bloomberg) — The main trust fund behind Medicare, the $583 billion U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled, will be exhausted in 2030, four years later than projected last year, the government reported.

An improving economy and the health-care overhaul — the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – may stave off depletion of the fund as it took in more money and spent less than expected last year. The trust fund pays for hospital visits, nursing care and related services for Medicare's 52 million beneficiaries. Its assets fell $7.1 billion in 2013 to $281 billion, less than one-third the reduction of a year earlier, according to a report released today by the program's trustees.

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