Federal spending is going up this year, mostly due to increasesin health spending, according to recentlyreleased projections by the Congressional Budget Office.

The nonpartisan agency projects that mandatory federal outlayswill rise by $168 billion in 2016 –– or 6 percent –– and that $104billion of that will come from increased spending on Medicare,Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and subsidies tothose purchasing insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. That amountsto an 11 percent increase in federal health spending over theprevious year.

The CBO is quick to mention, however, that part of the projectedincrease is due to a shifting of certain Medicare payments from2017 to 2016. If not for that, health care spending will only riseby $80 billion, or 8.6 percent.

Specifically, Medicaid spending will rise by $31billion –– also 8.8 percent. Obamacare subsidies will increase $18billion, or by nearly 50 percent.

Spending on Medicare, which is not significantly impacted by thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will rise by $28billion, or 5.2 percent.

That actually means that growth in federal health spending isslowing down. In 2015, the feds increased their health-relatedexpenditures by 13 percent, or $108 billion. Much of that came froma 16 percent increase in Medicaid spending and a more than 100percent increase in spending on subsidies for the Obamacareexchanges.

In comparison, spending on Social Security will rise $28billion, or only 3 percent in 2016.

Mandatory outlays refers to spending that is required due toexisting law and take place without regular authorization fromCongress. It is distinguished from “discretionary spending,” whichgenerally refers to a funds specifically appropriated by Congress,typically for shorter-term programs.

Big increases in federal health spending are nothing new. Therising cost of health care has ensured that federal programs tiedto the industry steadily grow.

But the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act introducedeven more spending by expanding eligibility of Medicaid in 31 states (so far), andoffering subsidies to individuals to buy insurance through federaland state marketplaces.