Government Spending for Health Entitlement Programs

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This report provides details on government spending on healthcare. Spending through the two principal health entitlement programs — Medicare and Medicaid — accounts for well over a third of U.S. health care spending and for one-fifth of all federal spending. On average, states spend almost 25 percent of their budgets on Medicaid.  Health entitlement spending is projected to grow quickly in the next decade as the baby boom generation ages onto Medicare in very large numbers, costs per enrollee continue to rise, and if more people become eligible for Medicaid as currently expected under national health reform.  Understanding the government healthcare entitlements and trends that face these programs is part of a comprehensive understanding of healthcare delivery and spending in the US. Published: 2012

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