The U.S. federal government recently released its estimates of overall health care and Medicare spending growth in 2014, and the numbers are anything but hopeful for those who oppose intervention by a health care spending supervisory board. A government actuarial report indicated that Medicare spending grew by roughly 5.5 percent in 2014, which not only breaks a trend of relatively low Medicare spending growth, but also raises the specter that the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) will act to force congressional action on Medicare.