CMS: Slow growth in U.S. health spending

Kathy Mahdoubi | | Health Imaging | Molecular Imaging

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided projected U.S. healthcare spending for the next several years and it is modest. Due to a timid economy and higher private insurance plan costs that pinch demand for healthcare services, average annual healthcare spending is expected to grow by 5.7 percent this year, Reuters reports. If the economy improves, that could be bumped up to about 6 percent from 2015 to 2023.

This number is slightly lower than last year’s projections of 5.8 percent from 2012 to 2022 and significantly lower than the 7.2 percent annual average the industry experienced between 1990 and 2008.

"The major factor is the relationship between health spending and economic growth," said CMS economist Andrea Sisko, in the report.

U.S. healthcare spending growth to slow further: government report

Kathy Mahdoubi

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