Overall national healthcare spending appears to be stabilizing, and hospital spending growth has slowed, according to an Altarum analysis of CMS data.
Here are four things to know.
1. Overall national healthcare spending as a share of gross domestic product reached 18 percent in February 2016 and has since remained between 17.9 percent and 18.1 percent, the analysis shows. This ratio was 18.1 percent in October 2017.
2. Hospital spending growth has slowed. Charles Roehrig, PhD, senior economist and fellow at Altarum, said this growth averaged 3.3 percent through October 2017 compared to 4.7 percent in the same period of 2016.
3. CMS put 2016 national healthcare spending growth at 4.3 percent, according to Altarum. The analysis notes this is lower than Altarum's previous projection of 4.6 percent. The lower-than-projected spending growth is partly attributed to slow growth in prescription drugs — at 1.3 percent — last year.
4. Overall healthcare price growth remained unchanged between September 2017 and October 2017 — at 1.1 percent, the analysis shows. Altarum said this is the lowest growth rate since December 2015.
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