Health care spending to double within 10 years

If we think we're spending quite a bit on health care now, imagine that some estimates have health care spending doubling within 10 years from now. In other words, we'll be spending $4.1 trillion by 2017 on annual health care instead of the current $2.1 trillion we're spending now -- and that's just in the U.S.

It's shocking to see that nearly 20 cents of every dollar spent in 10 years will go toward health care. Of course, many will ask what the causes are. One of the biggies is an aging population, as the "leading edge of the baby boom generation becomes eligible for Medicare."

With the baby boomer generation at staggering levels (70 million+), it's easy to see why we'll be spending so much more on health care in 10 years. Add that to the fact that people are living longer (as what's been widely reported), and there are your spending increases.