Health Care "Inflation"

When Clinton tried to overhaul the health care system back in 1993, 40 million Americans were uninsured and it cost $912 billion. Now, only 15 years later, the number of uninsured has increased to almost 50 million and Americans spend $2.5 trillion. That is a 25% increase in uninsured Americans and a 174%, or 11.5% annual, increase in cost. With inflation typically running around 3%, why is inflation in the health care industry almost 4 times higher?

Some other interesting facts to keep in mind as PhRMA, the drugmakers lobby, launches its $100 million ad campaign against health care reform:

• Premium costs are projected to rise another 9% next year, an increase that 42% of employers plan to pass on to their workers, according to a report last month by PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Earnings per hour climbed by a 0.7% pace on average over the last three months, the Labor Department said earlier this month, the smallest gain since the agency began keeping records in 1964
• The share of insured workers with at least a $1,000 deductible has almost doubled since 2006 to 18%
• Health-care spending will account for 20% of U.S. gross domestic product in 2018, or $1 in $5 spent, compared with 16% of GDP, $1 of $6 spent, in 2008 (As a point of reference, Canada's system costs 10% of their GDP and the average of all 30 members of the OECD is 8.9%. That means we currently spend twice what the world does for their health care)
  

Most experts who've analyzed President Obama's health care plan estimate it's cost between $1 and $1.5 trillion over 10 years. If we are already spending $2.5 trillion per year, why are people so shocked at the price tag of the Obama plan? If his plan works, it would be save massive amounts of money, which would then stimulate the economy. Sounds good to me.