Absent any change in federal law, U.S. spending on health care would climb from 16% of gross domestic product to one-quarter by 2025 and 49% by 2082, the Congressional Budget Office recently predicted.

The Medicare and Medicaid portion of health care spending would grow faster than the overall rate, from 4% of GDP in 2007 to 7% in 2025 and 19% in 2082, CBO said. CBO cautions that "significant uncertainty" surrounds such long-term projections and that growth "could turn out to be substantially higher or lower."

The agency said federal policy options to slow Medicare and Medicaid spending growth include reducing payment rates, financial incentives to encourage cost-effective care, and greater bundling of payments to cover all of the services associated with a treatment, disease or patient.

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