Lower growth in total national spending on hospital services has contributed to an overall slowdown in healthcare spending growth rates in recent years, according to an American Hospital Association infographic.
National healthcare spending growth will remain relatively slow at around 4 percent in 2013 but will accelerate starting next year, driven by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, economic recovery and the aging population, according to a report released last week by CMS analysts and economists.
Hospital spending growth in particular is expected to slow to 4.1 percent in 2013 from 4.9 percent in 2012, partly because of reduced Medicare spending under the healthcare reform law. CMS analysts then expect hospital spending to speed up to 4.7 percent in 2014. Due to improved economic conditions and increased Medicare enrollment as the population ages, hospital spending is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 6.3 percent from 2015 to 2022.
More Articles on Healthcare Spending Growth:
Report: Spending Growth About the Same in 2012 for Privately Insured
CMS: Health Spending Growth to Stay Slow in 2013
CBO: National Healthcare Spending to Increase to 22% of GDP by 2038