CMS Releases 2015 National Health Expenditures

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released the official figures on U.S. health spending in 2015. Nationwide, health spending grew by 5.8 percent, outpacing inflation which was .7 percent that year.

According to CMS, the annual increase in health spending is below the rates of most years prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). CMS also attributes the expenditure growth to be primarily driven by increased use of health services as more people gained insurance coverage. As of 2015, 20 million people either gained private insurance or joined Medicaid.

The CMS report also noted that prescription drug spending increased 9 percent in 2015, lower than the 12.4 increase in 2014, but higher than the 2.3 growth in 2013. Furthermore, health care spending as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) increased to 17.8 percent in 2015, up from 17.4 in 2014.

You can view the full report, which was published in the journal Health Affairs, here.

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