Outpatient hospital Medicare spending has increased by over 126 percent from 2003 to 2012, according to the June 2014 Data Book of Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program.
Aggregate Medicare spending among fee-for-service beneficiaries has increased significantly across all sectors for the same period. Though still on the rise, recent Medicare spending growth has slowed in part because of a decline in the growth of FFS enrollment due to an increase in Medicare Advantage enrollment.
The following list includes the change of Medicare spending across all four sectors evaluated from 2003 to 2012. These dollar amounts reflect Medicare spending only, and do not include beneficiary cost sharing or spending for Medicare Advantage enrollees.
- Outpatient hospital — 126.67 percent increase: $15 billion in 2003 to $34 billion in 2012
- Skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies — 80.77 percent increase: $26 billion to $47 billion
- Physician fee schedule — 42.86 percent increase: $49 billion to $70 billion
- Inpatient hospital — 19.82 percent increase: $111 billion increased to $133 billion