Chart of the Day: Skyrocketing Federal Spending on Medicare & Medicaid

As policymakers in Washington still haven’t reached solution to curb the national deficit, many are left wondering what programs will face fiscal spending cuts. On the hypothetical chopping block are Medicare and Medicaid, which jointly accounted for 24% of the national budget in 2011.

The debates over the pros and cons of making cuts to these programs continue, with no definite resolution or compromise in sight. 

If current policies remain in place, federal health care spending would grow more from 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to almost 10% in 2037, according to data by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). 

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Tack that on to the rising, aging population and the cost of health care would cause spending on Social Security to grow from more than 10% of GDP today to nearly 16% of GDP 25 years from now. 

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Written by Jason Oliva

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