CBO Predicts Sharp Increases In Medicare & Medicaid Spending Over Next Decade

The cost of Medicare is expected to nearly double over the coming decade according to projections issued by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Medicare spending in 2011 was $565.3 billion and is projected to increase 87%, reaching $1,058 billion by 2022. Medicaid spending is predicted to increase at an even faster rate; Medicaid spending in 2011 was $275 billion and is projected to increase 127%, reaching $622 billion by 2022. The projections were released in the CBO’s March 2012 Baseline Reports for Medicare and Medicaid. The Medicare report projects spending for cost components; the Medicaid report . . .