CBO: Medicare, Medicaid spending to double by 2020

The Congressional Budget Office has issued a revised report projecting Medicare and Medicaid spending will grow significantly over the next decade.

The CBO has updated its January forecast that Medicare spending will drop $69 billion by 2020 in light of recently enacted legislation and an analysis of President Barack Obama's budget. According to March projections, Medicare spending will jump to $1.058 trillion in 2022, almost double the $565.3 billion spent in 2011.

Similarly, the CBO expects Medicaid spending to rise from $275 billion in 2011 to $622 billion in 2022.

However, the agency lowered cost expectations for health reform coverage by $50 billion. With slow healthcare spending growth, among other factors, the CBO projects the law's coverage provisions will cost $1.083 trillion over the next 10 years, down from the $1.131 trillion it predicted last year, reported The Hill's Healthwatch.

Last fall, the Healthcare Leadership Council offered ways to cut Medicare spending by $410 billion during the next decade, FierceHealthFinance previously reported. The coalition of healthcare CEOs recommended making Medicare Part A and B beneficiary cost-sharing uniform for consistent deductibles, as well as giving medical malpractice cases a cap on damages and a one-year statute of limitations.

For more information:
- here's the CBO Medicare report (.pdf) and Medicaid report (.pdf)
- check out the CBO blog post
- read the Hill's Healthwatch blog post