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Bernanke: U.S. faces tough choices on health costs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health care costs are likely to claim a bigger share of household spending in years to come, pressuring the government to absorb more health care costs, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.
Posted : Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:03:01 GMT
Author : Reuters
Category : US (Business)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health care costs are likely to claim a bigger share of household spending in years to come, pressuring the government to absorb more health care costs, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Monday.

"At some point, health-care spending as a share of (gross domestic product) will stop rising, but it is difficult to guess when that will be, and there is little sign of it yet," he said in comments prepared for a health care conference organized by the Senate Finance Committee.

Rising health care costs will affect government decisions about spending and taxation, Bernanke said.

"Higher government spending on health-care spending will, of necessity, require reductions in other government programs, higher taxes, or larger budget deficits," he said.

(Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Neil Stempleman)


(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

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