The Government Accountability Office released an updated report on the nation's long-term fiscal outlook last week. The outlook is still bleak, but the GAO is getting on the same page as the CBO in pointing toward rapidly rising health care costs as the prime cause of the gargantuan fiscal gap. Although Social Security is a major part of the fiscal challenge, it is far from the biggest challenge. Spending on the major federal health programs (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) represents a much larger, faster growing, and more immediate problem. In fact, the federal government's future obligations for Medicare Part D alone exceed the unfunded obligations for Social Security. (click to enlarge)