Medicare growth slows
June 1, 1998 less than 1 minute read
Medicare growth slows
· Health care spending increased by 4.4% in 1996 - the lowest rate in 37 years - but it topped the $1 trillion mark for the first time. As a share of gross domestic product, it remains at 13.6%.
· Medicare outlays increased by 8.1%, down from 10.6% the year before.
· Medicare per enrollee spending growth should drop from the 1996 rate of 6.5% to 2.5% in 1998.
· The portion of health care costs paid for by the government rose from 40% in 1989 to 47% in 1996. During that time, public sector spending increased an average of 9.7% per year, vs. 5.8% in the private sector.
· Employer-sponsored insurance premium growth reached a low of 3.6% in 1996, costing working Americans $3.6 billion.
· Medicare and Medicaid financed $351 billion in services in 1996 - one-third of the nation's health care bill and three-fourths of public health care spending. Medicaid spending on 36.1 million people totaled $147.7 billion; Medicare spending on 38.1 million people totaled $203.1 billion.
See http://www.dhhs.gov for information.
Source: Health Care Financing Administration, Baltimore.
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