Dec 15
From the Congressional Budget Office, a graph of actual and projected federal spending:
Note that the vast majority of the growth of projected spending in Medicare and Medicaid is due to projected increases in health care costs.
The graph really says it all.
December 18th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Are you sure the “Medicare” was not mixed up with interest payments?
With “Medicare” increasing without bound, it is obvious the government should stay away from healthcare of it’s citizens. What is constituting the increased cost? Is it stronger, more profitable, patent laws on medicine? Are the Republicans going to Terri Schiavo our bodies after we die?
Or maybe someone who hates the poor cooked the numbers to make a scary graph?
December 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Kyle,
The numbers are from the CBO and do not include interest payments. I have no reason to doubt their objectivity.
I also do not necessarily agree with the statement that “With ‘Medicare’ increasing without bound, it is obvious the government should stay away from healthcare of it’s citizens.” Health care cost inflation isn’t limited to the government; private health insurance incurs it as well. Therefore, it isn’t only government’s problem, it’s everyone’s problem.
For more information on projected health care costs, see the CBO’s The Long Term Outlook for Health Care Spending.
December 21st, 2007 at 11:33 am
Thanks for the link to more detail. Now I *know* it is a bunch of right wing think tank propaganda.
1) They did their calculation based on rate of growth of a percentage of GDP instead of rate of growth in actual dollars (adjusted for inflation if you wish). This makes their claims ludicrous: “…99% of GDP by 2082″, or in other words, over 101% of GDP by 2083!
2) They chose their dataset between 1975 and 2005 and simply average the rate of growth (which I said was corrupted). This includes a spike (wrt GDP) in heath care spending between 1979 and 1982 (that corresponds well the boomer’s children being born, but is so distinct that it could have been a policy change). Since 1982 the heath care spending has declined.
3) The paper you pointed me to makes pointed mention on how to reduce heath spending
The Congressional Budget Office is either packed with retarded people, or has been corrupted by medical industry profiteers. Consider their contributions a disservice to the citizens of the United States.