Every so often I like to pound home the point that Medicare and Medicaid aren't in any unique distress -- that their cost problems are a function of health inflation across the whole economy, not just in government programs, and that to get their growth under control will require wholesale reform. This CBO graph (PDF), however, makes the point particularly eloquently:
So, just eyeballing the chart, Medicare is currently at around 2.5 percent of GDP. By 2080, it's expected to grow to almost 15 percent of GDP. That's staggering. But it's nothing compared to private health care, which currently eats up around 10 percent of GDP, and is set to grow to 30 percent of GDP. Indeed, health care, as a whole, is projected to eat up a full 50 percent of GDP by 2080.Unless, of course, we do something.
So, just eyeballing the chart, Medicare is currently at around 2.5 percent of GDP. By 2080, it's expected to grow to almost 15 percent of GDP. That's staggering. But it's nothing compared to private health care, which currently eats up around 10 percent of GDP, and is set to grow to 30 percent of GDP. Indeed, health care, as a whole, is projected to eat up a full 50 percent of GDP by 2080.Unless, of course, we do something. 
