[Zumzoa]

This article http://www.economist.com/node/21524889 covers some of it.

"Health spending will rise by 5.8% each year from 2010 to the end of 2020, according to actuaries at the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In 2020 health care will account for one-fifth of America’s economy."

The article goes on to point out that surveys suggest that the Federal government will be liable for a huge amount of medical obligations... and all this will occur in the country which has the most expensive healthcare in the world.

Something has to break.

[rayiner]

Staggeringly poor article. Projecting out a trend line by effectively assuming sustained exponential growth is completely retarded. It's really the same as the projections predicting that the sustained 1990s bubble would continue and the US debt would be paid off by 2009.

[CamperBob]

Considering the demographics involved -- the population as a whole is getting older and health care for old people is expensive as all hell -- it seems the burden of proof is on you to demonstrate why sustained exponential growth in health-care costs will not take place.

[onemoreact]

The average lifespan in the US is decreasing.

The number of new drugs intering the market is decreasing, and once the patent expires on an existing drug most drugs effectivly become free.

Most importantly we spend twice as much of our GDP on heathcare as most contires with universal heathcare for reduced benifits. If the numbers keep getting worse the government can get involved in the supply side of the equation without reducing benifits to patents.