We’ve been hearing that healthcare costs are rising at an unsustainable rate. Is that true?

Background Information

Debate Question:This is what a short summary question would look like.

The percent of America’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on health care is now over 17% compared with 5% in 1960; it is expected to be at 20.1% by 2025. In 2015 the health care inflation rate was 5.8% vs. an overall inflation rate of 0.12%.
in favor
against

The math is obvious: Since the rate of healthcare inflation consistently exceeds the general inflation rate, eventually healthcare will consume our entire budget. 

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist In Favor
  • +1 Good Point

Critics have called healthcare spending increases “unsustainable” for decades, even when costs were half the level of today as a percentage of GDP. Yet the economy and the healthcare system have survived. There is no clear threshold for how much of the GDP we should be spending on health care, so why is 17%, or even 20% or 25%, “too much?”

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist Against
  • Good Point +1

Years of efforts have shown America’s inability to tame healthcare inflation. There is nothing now stopping costs from continuing to climb, damaging our economy as they do.

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist In Favor
  • +2 Good Point

Health cost increases fluctuate year to year and sometimes are lower than general inflation, so while costs are rising faster than they should, they don’t threaten to swamp the American economy. We will set stronger limits if and when we truly have to.

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist Against
  • Good Point +1

Over the past 25 years, increases in health benefit spending by employers has greatly reduced wage growth.

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist In Favor
  • +1 Good Point

Healthcare spending growth translates into more jobs, nearly all of them in America, which makes reasonable increases sustainable.

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist Against
  • Good Point +2

Health care spending crowds out spending on other societal goals, such as education or job training. 

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist In Favor
  • +1 Good Point

Americans value health care and have shown consistently both a willingness to spend money on it and a reluctance to place limits on it.

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist Against
  • Good Point +1

The continuing inflation means that doctors, hospitals and drug makers have too much control over our markets and elected officials, and they will continue to exert their influence to increase spending unsustainably.

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist In Favor
  • +1 Good Point

It shouldn’t be surprising that a wealthy, aging country with a growing economy spends increasing amounts on a healthcare system that can cure more and more diseases. What else should be growing that’s more important than healthcare?

Zetema PanelistZetema Panelist Against
  • Good Point +1

What do you think?

We’ve been hearing that healthcare costs are rising at an unsustainable rate. Is that true?

We’ve been hearing that healthcare costs are rising at an unsustainable rate. Is that true?

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