But it's a nice hat. That's because the people paid for that hat.

Remember the President's assurances that his ACA would finally “bend the cost curve”?

Despite a determined rear-guard media that clings to Obama's every word as universal truth, evidence accumulates that the President was talking thru his hat.

On September 17, 2013, CBO released it's most recent Long-Term Budget Outlook.

According to CBO, in 20 years, “major health care programs” will be the largest component of federal spending. 

CBO expresses its estimate relative to GDP - which is also growing.  CBO's estimate is that federal health care spending will increase from roughly 3% to north of 8% of GDP.  That's almost tripling the share of a base number that is itself growing every year.   CBO thus anticipates federal dollar spending growth for health care more like 4X's to 5X's its level in 2013.

Bend the cost curve, indeed.  

Talking thru his hat.

(btw, the same CBO estimate finds that  within the next 25 years, federal debt held by the public will be 100% of America’s entire GDP "without accounting for the harmful effects that growing debt would have on the economy."  The corresponding percentage as late as 2007 was less than 40% of GDP.  This administration's failure to bend the federal spending cost curve is clearly a serious problem that extends well beyond "health care".)