Health Spending Projections Through 2015: Changes On The Horizon
By Christine Borger, Sheila Smith, Christopher Truffer, Sean Keehan, Andrea Sisko, John Poisal, M. Kent Clemens (from the Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
Health Affairs
February 22, 2006
Projections for 2006
$2.164 trillion – National health expenditures (NHE)
$7,110 – NHE per capita
16.5% – NHE as percent of GDP
Health spending is expected to consistently outpace gross domestic product (GDP) over the coming decade, accounting for 20 percent of GDP by 2015.
Stable trends through 2015 likely mask important changes to the U.S. health care system across payers and types of care.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.25.w61/DC1
Comment: By Don McCanne, M.D.
These numbers should be downloaded since they represent our current level of health care spending and can be very useful in your advocacy work.
Current trends indicate that spending growth will continue well in excess of the rate of inflation. The greatest uncertainty is not how much we’ll be paying, but rather who will be paying it.