Health Care and Social Security Costs are Unsustainable.

by delmeyer on 04/28/2020 8:02 PM

Health spending totaled $74.6 billion in 1970 or $355 per Beneficiary.

By 2000, health expenditures had reached about $1.4 trillion or $4855 per Beneficiary.

In 2017, the United States spent about $3.5 trillion, or  $10,200 per person, 18 percent of GDP, on health expenditures. Of that $3.5 trillion, $1.5 trillion, is directly or indirectly financed by the federal government.

In 2018, the United States spent about $3.6 trillion, or $11,172 per person growing 4.6 percent.

Medicare costs are expected to rise rapidly in the coming years. In dollars, net costs are projected to more than double over the next decade. This growth is due to both the aging of the population – the number of beneficiaries will rise from 58 million to 77 million – and growth in per-capita health spending – cost per beneficiary is projected to grow from $10,200 to $16,400.

The Medicare trust fund will be depleted in 2026, the administration said. By contrast, the government said last year that the trust fund would be exhausted in 2029.

Social Security benefits will start to exceed the program’s costs in 2020, and the program will deplete its $2.9 trillion reserve fund in 2035. After that, the program is projected to pay out about 75 percent of benefits. … By 2033, the number of Americans eligible for retirement benefits will increase to more than 77 million from 46.6 million today.

Note: To keep Medicare and Social Security Sustainable, we must delay the onset of benefits. Early Medicare should be delayed 3 months every year until it reaches 72 years. Early Social Security should be delayed three months every year until it reaches 65 years. Regular SS should be delayed three months every year until it reaches 72 years.  The onset of SS and Medicare will then remain the same and will be index to 10 years less than life expectancy.

Read more . . .   https://www.crfb.org/papers/american-health-care-health-spending-and-federal-budget
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