Last Friday, the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech at a Federal Reserve Symposium in which he discussed the importance of keeping healthcare costs under control in order for the United States to make economic progress.
"To achieve economic and financial stability, U.S. fiscal policy must be placed on a sustainable path that ensures that debt relative to national income is at least stable or, preferably, declining over time. …The increasing fiscal burden that will be associated with the aging of the population and the ongoing rise in the costs of healthcare make prompt and decisive action in this area all the more critical."
In the same speech, Chairman Bernanke repeated a common message that has been voiced of late: the United States spends more on healthcare than other industrialized nations yet it continues to have worse outcomes than other countries. He also briefly touched upon the largest portion of the U.S. population driving healthcare costs saying,
"Our population is aging, like those of many other advanced economies, and our society will have to adapt over time to an older workforce."
Perhaps this is a sign that the current administration will be more open to policy changes, such as the House Budget plan that pushes the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67.
Despite the overall slow recovery and recent criticism of unemployment numbers, his overall message was optimistic. In his closing remarks, Chairman Bernanke said,
"I have no doubt, however, that those challenges can be met, and that the fundamental strengths of our economy will ultimately reassert themselves. The Federal Reserve will certainly do all that it can to help restore high rates of growth and employment in a context of price stability."
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