US health care spending increased 5.5% in 2014

Health care costs appear to be accelerating again, the government says.

Over the past few years, the Obama administration has, on repeated occasions, implicitly credited Obamacare with substantially slowing the growth of national health care spending.

Overall, the new projections are not much different than estimates the actuaries released last year, according to “The Upshot” (“The Upshot”, New York Times, 7/28).

By 2024, analysts are predicting that health care will represent one fifth of U.S. economy.

Even so, the report is “not great news”, said economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank.

If the U.S. didn’t already outpace every single developed country on the planet in health spending as a percentage of GDP, this uptick in the spending growth rate might not be the worst news.

“That’s one of the really important accomplishments of the program that people don’t know about”, said Nancy De Lew, a senior policy expert at the federal Health and Human Services department.

The health care industry, supported by Sen. “Is that a better target, and if so, what is that going to do to the innovation within the health care system?”

As taxpayers, Americans benefited from the slowdown, which reduced projected Medicare costs. But the medical bills of many rose as employers shifted costs to workers. In its first year, 19 million people signed up for the program; today it serves more than 54 million.

The insured rate is expected to rise from 86 percent to 92.4 percent as the number of uninsured persons is projected to fall by 18 million over the next 11 years. It increased from 17.7%last year.

These programs help low-income adults, children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with disabilities by providing them access to quality and affordable health care.

Overall, pharmaceutical products drove an increase of 12.6 percent in 2014, 10.1 percent more than in 2013.

And these Wisconsin residents are likely to get their coverage through a private health plan paid for by Medicare or Medicaid, marking another stark contrast from the programs’ origins.

So far, 31 states and the District of Columbia states have expanded the program. The other is subsidized private insurance. The government cited the debut of high-cost prescription drugs for hepatitis C, such as Sovaldi, as the primary reason behind that jump.

A graphic illustrating these facts and others is here. Most people who will become eligible for Medicare this year were in high school when this legislation was authorized. We used a large national survey to assess the changes in health insurance, access to care, and self-reported health since these expansions began. “Mingle, talk with representatives from CommuniCare clinics, learn about Covered California, health care and mental health services for older adults services in Yolo County; enjoy cake and refreshments”.