US health spending up a moderate 5.2% in June

National health spending in the USA in June 2016 was 5.2% higher than in June 2015, totaling $3.36 trillion (seasonally adjusted annual rate).

For the first six months of 2016, health spending grew at a rate of 5.3%, slightly below the 2015 estimate of 5.5% made by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), but modestly above the 4.8% rate that CMS projects for all of 2016. The health spending share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 18.2% in June, tied for the all-time high in our series, first hit in February 2016.

These data come from the monthly Health Sector Economic IndicatorsSM briefs released by Altarum Institute’s Center for Sustainable Health Spending ( http://www.altarum.org/healthindicators).