Common Sense Political Ideas
I applaud the budget deal reached in Congress this past week. Not because it’s a good bill that addresses the long-term financial problems of the U.S., but because it spares the country another government shutdown.
Ultimately, there will need to be changes made. We have the most expensive and complicated health insurance system in the world, much of it paid for by taxpayers, and millions of people still without coverage. We cannot continue to spend so much on healthcare, especially in the federal budget.
Significant concerns over the ACA and Medicaid expansion remain. Opponents warn that demographic trends will cause Medicaid expenditures to grow rapidly.
Medicare spending is projected to increase from $600 Billion in 2014 to $1 trillion by 2022. It’s important that we come up with some solutions to begin reducing Medicare spending as a percentage of the federal budget.
Without changes to entitlement programs, mandatory spending is projected to exceed 100% of all government revenues sometime in the 2030s. It’s important that we come up with some solutions sooner than later or Medicare as we know it won’t be around another 50 years.