Debt 101: What’s the Deal with Health Care?

In Parts I and II of our “Debt 101” series, we discussed what the US national debt is, why it matters, and how we might possibly lower it. As you now know, the US has a debt problem unlike any it has encountered before.

One of the largest contributors to our debt problem is the cost of health care. In fact, health care is the single greatest cost to the American government—even larger than defense—and it is only going to get more expensive with time. Most young adults (ages 18-30) believe the federal government should be responsible for ensuring Americans have health insurance. But that belief doesn’t necessarily take into account how our complex health care system affects the national debt. What is it, exactly, that makes health care so costly?