COMMENT We have been warned for a long time now that America’s long-term healthcare costs are unaffordable, unsustainable and a threat to our economic competitiveness. It is all true.
With 78m baby boomers nearing retirement, Medicare’s unfunded liabilities and promises are $38,000bn (€26,000bn, £24,000bn) in today’s dollars (not including Medicaid). To meet those costs, we would have to more than double Medicare payroll taxes – unthinkable. Private health insurance is in no better shape. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in the next decade the average annual premiums of employee-based coverage are expected to rise to a stunning $30,800.
