A: The administration says that’s unlikely to happen. Cuts are being introduced gradually, and dozens of pilot programs are testing ways to provide better care for less money. Health care costs are in a lull, buying time to make changes. Studies indicate there is plenty of waste to be cut.

‘‘The president will continue to make sure that seniors have access to the benefits they have earned,’’ Fetcher.

But if Obama’s advisers are wrong and the system starts to seize up, most experts believe Congress would intervene. ‘‘Congress is always going to step in if there is a real perception that quality and access for Medicare beneficiaries would suffer broadly,’’ said Mark McClellan, who ran Medicare for President George W. Bush.

Q: Obama’s health care law already increases the Medicare payroll tax for individuals making over $200,000. What’s to rule out a broader tax increase?

A: McClellan says that’s always a risk, particularly because Obama’s health care law funnels the higher Medicare payroll tax into providing coverage for working-age uninsured people.

‘‘Because those revenues are dedicated to the coverage expansion, everything else being equal, the government is going to need more revenue to cover the cost of the (Medicare) program,’’ he said. ‘‘If that money had been used for deficit reduction, or to increase the life of the trust fund, the government would have more existing resources.’’

The White House says there are no plans to propose higher Medicare taxes.

Q: The administration pulled the plug on a new long-term care insurance program because of financing problems. How does Obama plan to address this unmet national need in his second term?

A: The campaign says Obama is willing to work with anyone who has good ideas about long-term care, and that Medicaid and Medicare will continue working to help seniors who want to stay in their own homes, instead of going into nursing facilities.

But Novelli said paying for long-term care remains a huge problem for middle-class elders and their families.