Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Spending Growth Slows For Second Year In A Row
The Associated Press: Report: US Health Spending Hits $3.5T But Growth Slows
The nation’s health care tab hit $3.5 trillion last year, or $10,739 per person, the government reported Thursday. But behind those staggering figures was some fairly good news: The rate of growth slowed for the second year in a row, according to economic experts at the federal Health and Human Services department. Health care spending increased by 3.9 percent in 2017, following a 4.8 percent increase in 2016. Private insurance spending grew more slowly in 2017, and so did Medicaid, while Medicare costs grew at about the same rate. The overall economy grew faster than health spending. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Growth In U.S. Health-Care Spending Slows
The report, published in the journal Health Affairs, said the slowdown may be linked, in part, to the lack of growth in health insurance enrollment. The insured rate of the population edged down to 90.9% last year from 91.1% in 2016. The report also pointed to changes in various health sectors, including a shift to lower-priced generic drugs and less use of high-price specialty medications. ... The new spending data are likely to fuel further discussions in Congress, where lawmakers have been wrapping up hearings on the high cost of health care. Health care was a central issue in the midterm elections, with polls showing many Americans worried about the price of care and the potential for losing benefits. (Armour, 12/6)
The New York Times: Growth Of Health Care Spending Slowed Last Year
But the rate of increase for the major categories — drugs, doctors and hospitals — was more modest than in recent years. For the first time in several years, health spending grew at about the same rate as the economy as a whole in 2017. So the share of the economy devoted to health care stabilized. By contrast, over the past few decades, health spending has generally grown faster than the economy. (Pear, 12/6)
The Hill: US Health-Care Spending Topped $10,739 Per Person In 2017: Report
It’s the slowest increase in spending since 2013, before most parts of the Affordable Care Act took effect, including the expansion of Medicaid to more low-income adults. (Hellmann, 12/6)
Also, a new study looks at what state officials see as priorities for changes in the health system --
The Fiscal Times: Fixing U.S. Health Care: Can States Step Up Where Washington Has Failed?
The midterm elections may have focused extensively on health care, but the results have done little to clarify where health care reform is headed. “The future of U.S. health care reform is muddier now than at any point in the past two decades,” write researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health, University College London and the Milbank Memorial Fund in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. (Rosenberg, 12/6)
