Congressional Budget Office Says Medicare Spending Growth Slower Than Expected

Circle Connections: Policy & Regulatory Updates Amid its grim projections for the economy overall, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in an update to its January report on the nation's budget and economic outlook, said that outlays for Medicare will total 3.7 percent of the gross domestic product in 2013, rising to 4.3 percent of GDP in 2022, as enrollment in the program increases. But the report also noted that for the third year in a row, CBO expects the growth in Medicare spending in 2012 to be "substantially slower" than anticipated earlier in the year. CBO also . . .