Spending on health care has been growing faster than the economy for many years, representing a challenge both for the government’s two major health insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid, and for the private sector. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has just released an important new study suggesting that future health care spending could be even higher than other government agencies project. CBO director Peter Orszag will discuss this study as well as recent research on the federal government’s long-term budget. Thomas P. Miller, a resident fellow at AEI, will comment. Kent Smetters, a professor at the Wharton School and a visiting scholar at AEI, will moderate.