Those proton beams don't come cheap

The U.S. spends nearly 18 percent of its GDP on health care—more than any other developed country. Rising health care costs strain government budgets and are passed on to American families through higher premiums and out-of-pocket spending. But America's spending on health care has slowed unexpectedly in recent years. Since 2006, real per capital spending growth has averaged 1.9 percent per year, compared with an average of 4.9 percent per year between 1960 and 2006. If this trend is sustained, total savings will be substantial; recent estimates suggest that if current lower growth rates continue, total U.S. spending will be $770 billion lower between 2011 and 2021 compared with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid's previous forecasts.