National health spending is expected to grow an average 5.8% annually from 2014-2024, due to coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act, anticipated economic growth and an aging population, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reported today in Health Affairs. “However, these projected growth rates are significantly lower than those observed over the three decades prior to the recent recession,” said Sean Keehan, a senior economist in CMS’s Office of the Actuary. Health spending is projected to grow 1.1% faster than gross domestic product per year during this period, raising the health care share of GDP from 17.4% in 2013 to 19.6% by 2024. CMS projects health care spending to have grown 5.5% in 2014, primarily due to insurance coverage expansions and a sharp rise in prescription drug spending, which is projected to have accelerated from 2.5% in 2013 to 12.6% in 2014. Spending for hospital care is expected to have grown 4.4% in 2014, similar to 2013. The report also notes that hospital price growth, as measured by the Producer Price Index, decelerated from 2.2% in 2013 to 1.4% in 2014 – the slowest rate since 1998.         

Related News Articles

Headline
The AHA and the Hospital Capacity Management Consortium will host a webinar Sept. 4 on the use of predictive analytics within hospital capacity management,…
Headline
The AHA Quest for Quality Prize honors hospitals and health systems committed to leadership and innovation in improving quality and advancing health. Learn how…
Headline
A JAMA study published Aug. 20 found that nearly 63% of all U.S. drug production facilities from 2019 through 2024 were in counties where a weather disaster…
Headline
The AHA’s Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development Aug. 21 announced Donna Teach, chief marketing and communications officer for Nationwide…
Headline
The FBI Aug. 20 released an advisory warning of malicious activity by Russian cyber actors targeting end-of-life devices running an unpatched vulnerability in…
Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Aug. 21 announced the creation of a Healthcare Advisory…