National Health Spending Expected To Hit New High Of $10,000 Per Person
CMS estimates that the 5.5 percent increase in 2015 totals $3.2 trillion. After several years of lower growth, the acceleration is largely attributed to a stronger economy, faster growth in medical prices and an aging baby boomers, as well as specialty drug costs.
The New York Times:
National Health Spending To Surpass $10,000 A Person In 2016
National health spending will average more than $10,000 a person this year for the first time, the Obama administration said Wednesday, a milestone that heralds somewhat faster growth in health spending after several years of exceptionally low growth. By 2025, the administration reported, health care will represent 20 percent of the total economy, up from 17.8 percent last year. By 2025, one of every five Americans will be on Medicare, and the program will spend an average of nearly $18,000 a year for each beneficiary. Medicare spent about $12,000 per beneficiary in 2015. (Pear, 7/13)
The Associated Press:
New Peak For US Health Care Spending: $10,345 Per Person
A stronger economy, faster growth in medical prices and an aging population are driving the trend. Medicare and Medicaid are expected to grow more rapidly than private insurance as the baby-boom generation ages. By 2025, government at all levels will account for nearly half of health care spending, 47 percent. (7/14)
The Washington Post:
Health Care Spending Is Projected To Grow Much Faster Than The Economy
The report, compiled by a team of government actuaries, shows overall health spending picking up after a historic slowdown, but the growth remains lower than the nearly 8 percent annual growth in the two decades before the Great Recession. The Obama administration — including the president himself in a recent essay — has credited the Affordable Care Act with keeping health expenditures in check. But economists remain uncertain whether the slowdown in spending is because of provisions of the law or might be explained by other factors. (Johnson, 7/13)