Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is urging Congress to address Social Security’s worsening finances and rising health care costs before his Senate term ends, warning that lawmakers have a narrowing window to act.

Speaking Tuesday at Semafor’s Future of Health Forum, Cassidy pointed to the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, which projects that the program’s Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will run out of reserves in the fourth quarter of 2032. Without legislative changes, continuing program income would be sufficient to pay 78% of scheduled OASI benefits at that point.

Cassidy said he has worked on Social Security reform for roughly six years and acknowledged the difficulty of reaching a bipartisan agreement. He pointed to a previous proposal involving seven Republicans and seven Democrats and cited his work with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on the bipartisan PROMISE Act.

“Obviously, the window is closing,” Cassidy said. “But the longer you wait to fix Social [Security], the worse it gets.”

Cassidy will leave the Senate at the end of the year after losing the Louisiana Republican primary in May. Rep. Julia Letlow, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, advanced from the primary and later won the general election.

Cassidy, a physician who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, also identified health care affordability as another priority for his remaining months in office. He highlighted the bipartisan Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, which would increase information available to patients about the cost of medical services before they receive care.

Cassidy said greater price transparency could help address health care costs, arguing that patients often do not know what a service will cost before receiving it. He said he hopes Congress can make progress on both issues before he departs from the Senate.