Virtually everyone in the current health care debate agrees that one of the main problems with the U.S. health care system is the ever-rising cost.  Last year we spent 18 percent of our economy on health care. Without significant reform, we will spend 21 percent of our economy on health care in 2021. Everyone has their own opinion about what is driving this cost increase. The chart below from the Bureau of Labor Statics is very revealing. A quote from the famous economist Thomas Sowell is included.

The major intrusion of government into our health care system began in 1965 with the passage of Medicare and Medicaid. Clearly, over the past 40 years we have spent a much higher percent of money on new regulators and administrators than on new physicians. This unfortunate trend should factor into any discussion of health care reform.