What accounts for the rise in healthcare expenditures, and what are possible policy solutions to address the problem?

 Medicare and Medicaid take the biggest hit. “Public expenditures on health care, including Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance and direct care programs, account for nearly half of all health care spending” (The Effect of Rising Health Care Costs on U.S. Tax Rates, 2012).Medicare is an insurance program created in the mid-1960s to cover medical services (such as hospital, institutional, and other home care) forthe elderly that is funded by a payroll system of the US government.In contrast, Medicaid is a low cost health insurance for certain segments of the population that can’t do it on their own; they need assistance, primarily children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors and dual eligible’s. Combined, Medicare and Medicaid make up an enormous amount of healthcare spending