Federal Spending on Medicare Projected to Rise Because of Cost of Health Care, Not Growing Numbers of Recipients

OPEN MINDS On-Line News Strategic Health Care News Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid is projected to grow from four percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007, to nine percent in 2032, and then to 19% in 2082. More than half of the projected growth in federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid is expected to be due to health care costs per person increasing more rapidly than the per capita GDP. Between 53% and 60% of accumulated Medicare cost growth projected for 2082 is estimated to be attributable solely to per capita cost growth.   Between 14% and . . .