Bush plan pushes government costs

Way to go, George:

Largely because of the new prescription drug benefit under Medicare, which takes full effect next year, the federal government will be paying half of the nation's health care bills within the next decade, according to a new report by the Bush administration.

The cost of health care, which continues to rise faster than overall inflation, is expected to double by 2014 as well, according to estimates prepared by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

That will make private and public spending on health care account for 18.7 percent, or nearly one-fifth, of the nation's gross domestic product, a record high. That growth rate is much higher than the overall growth of the U.S. economy is expected to be.