Should we be worried about high real medical spending growth in the United States?

This paper argues that increases in medical spending growth are not necessarily causes for alarm or reasons for strong action. Especially in the private sector, increases in employers' payments for benefits should often be offset with smaller raises; whether employees' cost shares should be increased depends on a comparison of benefits and costs. Problems are more severe for public-sector spending, for the uninsured, and for those responding to distorted incentives.