Arnold Kling

Medicare

Arnold Kling, Great Questions of Economics
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How much will government spending have to rise due to growth in Medicare? In this essay, I write,

The most critical economic issue for the 21st century is socialized medicine. Largely because of Medicare, the default scenario for the United States in the middle of the century is that government spending on health care will be about 10 percent of GDP.

Discussion Question. The essay does not suggest reducing health care spending as a fraction of GDP. So what difference does it make whether health care is paid for by private insurance or by the government?

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