On the Rise Again: U.S. Health Care Spending
Why is U.S. health care spending about to start accelerating again?
Credit: Andrew Sproule (Shutterstock
1. The annual rate of increase in US health spending is about to pick up again. It had slowed down to “only” 4%, mainly due to the recession and sluggish economic recovery.
2. From 2014 onward, annual health care spending in the United States will once again be slightly above 6% a year.
3. Overall, U.S. health spending is on track to rise from 17.9% of GDP in 2012 to 19.9% in 2022.
4. Prices paid for medical care in July rose just 1% from a year earlier, the slowest annual growth rate since the 1960s. Price growth is slowing but consumers are paying a greater share.
From National Health Expenditure Projections, 2012–22: Slow Growth Until Coverage Expands And Economy Improves (Health Affairs), National Health Expenditure Projections 2012-2022 (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and Medical-Price Inflation Is at Slowest Pace in 50 Years by Eric Morath and Louise Radnofsky (Wall Street Journal)
