The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a nation is a key measure of its economy. For decades, health care has become increasingly expensive--while simultaneously becoming a larger percentage of the U.S. GDP. The rise in health care spending, including that on health insurance plans, has outpaced general economic growth. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts that the trend will continue unabated over the next decade.

Specifically, the CMS estimates that healthcare expenses will comprise nearly one-fifth of the American economy by 2019. The sector currently accounts for 17.3%, with total spending of $2.5 trillion. In the next decade, the government agency believes that total spending on healthcare will reach over $4 trillion. That amounts to an over 6% in annual growth, compared to the 4.3% growth experts expect in the economy as a whole.

Why is this important? Some experts have suggested that increased spending on healthcare--both private and public--crowds out other spending. Money that could have funded small businesses that create jobs instead goes towards paying for medical insurance and prescription medications. In fairness, medical insurance companies do employ many people, as does the healthcare industry in general. However, many believe that there are better economic investments; i.e. paying off the country's deficit.

Assuming that the status quo remains and no health insurance reform passes, health care spending per person will increase from $8,000 in 2009 to $13,300 in 2019. Admittedly, healthcare reform is fraught with its own spending problems. Proponents of comprehensive individual health insurance reform, including President Obama, will no doubt point to the CMS' finding that the United States continues to be the nation that spends the most on healthcare with mixed results. Several other countries have higher life expectancies while spending less. Meanwhile, government and private industry are able to better focus on competing in the global economy. Individuals in better health are also more efficient employees and entrepreneurs.

Although spending will continue to rise, that does not mean more people will have health insurance. Doctors, hospitals, and drug companies will charge more due to industry inflation--leaving low cost medical insurance ever harder to find. More than 30 million people would still be uninsured at the end of this decade, and an even higher percentage of the population would be in that boat without government-run medical insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare insurance (whose costs are also predicted to increase). On all sides of the issue, there are viable ideas for reducing costs. From tightly regulated health insurance exchange markets and subsidies that seek to encourage competition among health insurance companies, to medical malpractice reform that would lessen the need for physicians to carry expensive insurance and perform unnecessary diagnostic tests to avoid liability, there are potential solutions to the country's predicament.

It turns out that the growth of healthcare spending slowed last year. Unfortunately for many, it was not due to structural changes. Rather, the purchase of group health insurance policies dropped with employee layoffs during the recession. Laid-off workers were no longer able to afford premiums for the coverage.