On the Rise Again: U.S. Health Care Spending
Why is U.S. health care spending about to start accelerating again?
October 9, 2013
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)
Takeaways
US health spending is on track to rise from 17.9% of GDP in 2012 to 19.9% in 2022.
