Health care subsidies, combined with housing assistance, take $1 trillion bite out of federal budget

Two studies look at the burden posed by health care costs, both to the federal government and to households across America.

The Associated Press: Health, Housing Get Greatest Federal Subsidies
A study of federal subsidies of various sectors of the economy released Tuesday says that health care and housing combined to reap almost $1 trillion in support in the most recent year for which data was available. The study funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts said that taxpayers subsidized health care by $743 billion in 2010, while a set of generous tax breaks was the main driver in $227 billion worth of subsidies for the housing industry (Taylor, 7/24).

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Health Cost Crisis Called 'Close To Cliff'
In most years, the country gets a little bit richer. In the last decade, nearly all of the gains -- more than 90% of economic growth -- went toward offsetting the growth in health care spending. The estimate, based on research by Michael Chernew, a health economist at Harvard University, is for 2000 through 2009, a period marked by sluggish growth overall. But it illustrates the growing burden that health care costs place on households as they struggle to get ahead (Boulton, 7/24).