In a newly published report, federal researchers claim that overall health-care costs in the United States are expected to grow significantly during the next 10 years, reaching nearly 20 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2016. The report was conducted by economists at the National Health Statistics Group (NHSG), which is part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and was published online by the journal Health Affairs.
According to the study, total spending on health care is projected to reach $4.1 trillion by 2016; estimates for 2006 are at $2.1 trillion. Since 2001, there has been a slight decelerating trend in health-care spending, attributable in part to slow growth in “volume and intensity†of medical services. In fact, Medicaid, thanks in large part to the Part D prescription benefit, is expecting a slight decrease in overall spending in 2006 the first time that’s ever happened.
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