Public sector cuts hold down spending growth.(Health Care Spending)

Publication: Medicine & Health

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Thomson Financial Inc.

U.S. health care spending growth slowed in 2003 for the first time in seven years, researchers at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report in the January/February Health Affairs.

Spending increased 7.7 percent in 2003, down from 9.3 percent growth in 2002. But the slowdown was almost entirely in the public sector and reflected several factors that might not be repeated, according to Cynthia Smith and colleagues from the CMS Office of the Actuary.

Moreover, the 2003 health care spending growth still significantly exceeded general economic growth, and it was enough to bring health care spending to record levels in dollar terms--$1.7 trillion--and as a share of the economy--15.3 percent of the gross domestic product. The private sector accounted for $913.2 billion in 2003 spending, while public sector spending...

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