Medicare Costs Over Time

In this chart, Mercatus Center Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy uses data from the 2011 Trustees Report and Congressional Budget Office to show Medicare costs over time. Between 1975 and 2010, the number of Medicare enrollees doubled to 47 million, and the real cost per enrollee quintupled.

Based on these projections, by 2040 Medicare will cover 88 million people and the cost will be nearly two times higher than in 2010.

Veronique de Rugy blogs about why Medicare will cost more than expected at NRO's The Corner.