As far as medical costs are concerned, the more government sticks its filthy stinking paws in it, the faster the costs rise. The obvious answer is to extract government from health care. Additionally, medical costs are greatly effected by scumbag “jackpot justice” lawyers (like John Edwards, for example). Serious tort reform can bring down the costs significantly.
Of course, it is obvious that government is not going to be extracted from health care. Just the opposite. With the addition of Obamacare, the government has effectively taken over health care.
Tort reform will not bring down costs significantly. They will lessen them, but the real reason is that actuarially the system is unsustainable. There are fewer and fewer workers for every retiree as the country ages. In 1950 there were 16 workers for every retiree. Now there are 3.3 and by 2050 there will be just two. The welfare state is unsustainable.