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January 5, 2010
Health care spending slowed in 2008 in face of recession, report says
A government report released today says health care spending slowed in 2008 to the lowest level since 1960. But it still outpaced overall economic growth at a time the country was in a downturn.
And consider this: total health expenditures made up 16.2 percent of the nation’s economy and reached 2.3 trillion, an amount that works out to $7,681 a person, according to the report put out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The annual growth in health care spending was 4.4 percent in 2008, down from 6.1 percent in 2007.
”This report contains some welcome news and yet another warning sign,” Jonathan Blum, a top official at the government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was quoted as saying in an article in The New York Times on the report. ”Health care spending as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) is rising at an unsustainable rate. It is clear that we need health insurance reform now.”
The bills passed by the U.S. House and Senate remain to be reconciled.
Here are some more highlights from the report:
Hospital spending increased 4.5 percent to $718.4 billion compared to 5.9 percent growth in 2007, the slowest rate of increase since 1998. This was influenced by slower price growth, investment losses and lower Medicaid hospital spending.
Spending on services for doctor and clinical services increased 5 percent in 2008 to $496.2 billion, a decline from 5.8 percent in 2007, because of slower growth in prices.
Spending growth for therapists, chiropractors, optometrists and other professional services declined from 6.5 percent in 2007 to 5.6 percent in 2008, to $65.7 billion.
Spending growth for dental services fell from 6.2 percent in 2007 to 5.1 percent in 2008, to $101.2 billion in 2008.
Nursing home spending went from 5.8 percent in 2007 to 4.6 percent in 2008. Expenditures reached $138.4 billion in 2008.
Prescription drug spending growth went from 4.5 percent in 2007 to 3.2 percent in 2008. The recession, a lower number of new products and safety concerns contributed to the slowdown.
A key area of growth in health care spending was Medicare as the population continues to age. Spending on that federal program for the elderly and disabled grew 8.6 percent in 2008 to $469.2 billion on top of a 7.1 percent increase in 2007, according to the report.
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