Healthcare Costs Are a Major Driver of the National Debt and Here’s the Biggest Reason Why

Peterson Foundation July 24, 2023

As the recent long-term projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show, the national debt is on an unsustainable path. Under current law, the nation’s debt trajectory will rise from nearly 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 to 181 percent in 2053. One of the largest drivers of that rising debt is federal spending on major healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Such spending is projected to rise by 78 percent over the next decade and will exceed all other categories of federal spending in 2030. By 2053, such spending will account for nearly 30 percent of the federal budget, exceeding the total amount spent on discretionary programs, such as defense and education, by about 40...

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