Healthcare Costs: The Borg that swallowed our economy

According to the 2009 Employer Health Benefits Survey of the Kaiser Family Foundation, health care in America now costs $13,375 per family.

The figure was up 5% in a year where inflation was actually negative and wages rose just 3%.

At the present rate of inflation, by the way, health care will cost over $30,000 per year, per family, by the end of the next decade. So how long do you want the political dance to continue? Dana Blankenhorn, How health reform and health IT reform are linked.

That change reflects an increase of 125% over a period of 11 years.

Our economy must grow by the same amount, 125%, over the same 11 years, in order for healthcare costs to not absorb a greater share of our GDP.

How reasonable is that?

According to this graph from the IMF, our economy grew a little less than 60% from 1990 to 2006.

16 years, 60% total growth in GDP. With 5 more years our economy generated half as much real growth in GDP.

Can our economy grow 125% over the next 11 years?