Reason for this is not medicare.  The main reason is a loss in tax revenue due to the rich harboring their wealth and income gains in off-shore tax-havens and thus not paying as much income tax; corporations paying less tax due to outsourcing and lower profits; people foreclosing on homes and thus not paying property taxes (which is typically the number #1 tax revenue stream for states); the poor and middle class earning less and thus paying less in income taxes; the poor and middle class buying less and thus paying less in sales taxes.

You try and blame it on medicare, The Yell, when it is medicare which has the potential to ease the financial burden on the poor and middle classes, keep them healthy enough to work, not have to be ruined by poor health or injury, not have to save money for contingency of poor health or injury and thus be better able to spend...

The need is for more tax revenue.  They can't get it from the poor and middle class who have suffered most from the financial crisis; the only choice is to get it from those who have either benefited from the financial crisis or who haven't suffered that much compared to the poor and middle class.

"The U.S. last balanced its budget in 2001. Between 2001 and 2010, spending increased by 5.6% GDP (from 18.2% GDP in 2001 to 23.8% GDP in 2010), while revenues declined by 4.6% GDP (from 19.5% GDP in 2001 to 14.9% GDP in 2010), resulting in a 9.4% GDP deficit. Medicare/Medicaid spending increased by 1.9% GDP and defense spending increased by 1.7% GDP. Individual income tax revenues fell by 3.5% GDP and payroll taxes fell by 0.8% GDP.[60][61]

Economist Paul Krugman summarized these causes in May 2011: "What happened to the budget surplus the federal government had in 2000? The answer is, three main things. First, there were the Bush tax cuts, which added roughly $2 trillion to the national debt over the last decade. Second, there were the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which added an additional $1.1 trillion or so. And third was the Great Recession, which led both to a collapse in revenue and to a sharp rise in spending on unemployment insurance and other safety-net programs."[62]

In June 2012, CBO summarized the cause of change between its January 2001 estimate of a $5.6 trillion cumulative surplus between 2002 and 2011 and the actual $6.1 trillion cumulative deficit that occurred, an unfavorable "turnaround" or debt increase of $11.7 trillion. Tax cuts and slower-than-expected growth reduced revenues by $6.1 trillion and spending was $5.6 trillion higher. Of this total, the CBO attributes 72% to legislated tax cuts and spending increases and 27% to economic and technical factors. Of the latter, 56% occurred from 2009 to 2011.[63][64]

The difference between the projected and actual debt in 2011 can be largely attributed to:

    $3.5 trillion