Another historic low in US health spending growth

US health care spending experienced historically low rates of growth in 2009 and 2010 according to the annual report of national health expenditures (NHE) published in the January issue of the journal Health Affairs.

Analysts at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) report in the article that the increase in spending for 2009 represents the lowest rate of increase in the entire 51 year history of the NHE. The low rate of growth, the data show, reflects lower utilization in health care than in previous years. The report notes that US health care spending grew only 3.9% in 2010, reaching $2,600 billion or $8,402 per person, just 0.1 percentage point faster than in 2009.

Rx drug spend just 1.2% higher