According to the intermediate estimates of Medicare's actuaries, Medicare has a $34.6 trillion shortfall for all current taxpayers and beneficiaries in the program. This equals $133,383 for every U.S. resident aged 15 or older. This measure approximates the method by which publicly traded companies are required by law to report the finances of their pension and retirement plans. However, these figures are based on current law, and Medicare's Trustees have written that the program's costs "could be substantially understated" due to "potentially unsustainable elements of current law." This is because the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) progressively cuts Medicare payment rates to healthcare providers over coming decades to "less than half of their level under the prior law."