Tom Coburn: “Medicare and Medicaid cost the American taxpayers a combined $770 billion in 2007; Medicare costing $432 billion and…”

“Medicare and Medicaid cost the American taxpayers a combined $770 billion in 2007; Medicare costing $432 billion and Medicaid $338 billion. In 2007, the Federal Government's share of Medicaid expenditures was $190 billion and is expected to be $402 billion by 2017. Medicare expenditures alone account for 3.2 percent of GDP. Over the next 75 years these expenditures are expected to explode to almost 11 percent of GDP. Every American household's share of Medicare's unfunded obligation is like a $320,000 IOU. The Medicaid Program, because of the promise of a generous Federal match of State Medicaid dollars, has given States heavy incentive to increase their State Medicaid spending. Medicaid spending now accounts for 26.3 percent of state budgets, up from just 6.7 percent in 1970. In some States, as much as half of all new revenues will go to Medicaid in the coming years. We have heard a lot of talk about bi-partisan commissions on entitlement reform come out of the Budget Committee, but the least that we can do is to stop blatant fraud and abuse in the mean time. Eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse is a baby step in addressing entitlements.”