Health Spending, as Share of GDP, Declines For First Time in 17 Years
Estimates released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) show that, even as the economy rebounded, U.S. healthcare spending continued to increase at a historically low rate. According to CMS, health spending declined as a share of the nation’s gross domestic product for the first time since 1997. In 2012, healthcare spending grew by 3.7 percent even as the U.S. economy, in its post-recession recovery, grew 4.6 percent.
Experts disagreed on the reasons for the low health spending growth rate. White House spokespersons credited the Affordable Care Act for having a favorable impact on cost growth containment. CMS actuaries said lingering effects of the recession were still playing the most important role in slow spending growth.
Healthcare Leadership Council President Mary R. Grealy said the innovative efforts of multiple health industry sectors to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes at reduced cost should not be overlooked. She cited the data contained in the HLC compendium of innovation successes, The Future is Here, as verifying that private sector healthcare is succeeding in bending the cost curve and advancing population wellness.
