One of the biggest threats to the U.S. economy and to the federal budget is the expansion of Medicare expenditures. Given America’s aging population and the growing cost of healthcare, the notion is that Medicare expenses could eventually edge out many other budgetary items, including infrastructure and homeland security.
But as reported by the New York Times, every year for the past 6 years, the Congressional Budget Office has reduced its estimate for how much the federal government will need to spend on Medicare in coming years. The latest report arrived last month and changes in forecasted expenditures are large. For example, the difference between the current estimate for Medicare’s 2019 budget and the estimate for the 2019 budget produced 4 years ago is about $95 billion. That sum is greater than what the government is expected to spend that year on unemployment insurance, welfare and Amtrak combined.
It’s equal to roughly one-fifth of the anticipated Pentagon budget that year. While America still faces projected deficits, the level of fiscal pain may not be quite as severe as many had predicted just a few years ago. The shifting forecasts are due largely to expectations regarding how much it will cost to provide care to the average Medicare beneficiary.
