In 1993 the nation spent $884.2 billion on health care, a 7.8 percent increase from 1992. Although this spending growth was among the lowest rates of growth recorded since 1960, it is too soon to tell whether slower growth in health spending is a new trend or merely a temporary perturbation in the long-term trend. The portion of the economy devoted to health care increased from 13.6 percent in 1992 to 13.9 percent in 1993-a 0.3 percentage point increase that equaled the average rate of increase recorded since 1960. The federal government's share of the total health care bill rose between 1991 and 1993, the first significant change in the share of the nation's health care bill funded by the federal government since the early 1970s. H ealth systems analysts have long acknowledged that the United States spends more than any other nation on health care, and the level of spending continues to rise each year. In 1993, however, the rate of increase was the lowest it has been in several years: Health spending grew only 7.8 percent from 1992 to 1993, compared with a rise of 8.6 percent the previous year. Also noteworthy was that the federal share of the total health bill grew to 32 percent-the largest share since the early 1970s. Much of this increase can be attributed to rising Medicaid spending, which grew considerably faster than overall spending in 1990-1992. The source of these spending estimates is the National Health Accounts from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). The basic measures of that spending, national health expenditures, describe levels of spending for health care services and products and the sources used to pay for them at a point in time. These measures also quantify health care's role in the overall economy, alerting us to a growing share of national output consumed in the production of health care. Taken together, these trends trace the story of public- and private-sector influences that have shaped the direction, growth, and levels of health care spending in the past and hint at trends to come.
[1]
W. Schwartz,et al.
Why managed care cannot contain hospital costs--without rationing.
,
1992,
Health affairs.
[2]
K. Levit,et al.
National health expenditures, 1991
,
1992,
Health care financing review.
[3]
S. W. Letsch.
National health care spending in 1991.
,
1993,
Health affairs.
[4]
E. Friedman.
Managed care: where will your hospital fit in?
,
1993,
Hospitals.