Good News Inside the Health Spending Numbers

The New York Times: Inside the continuing slowdown in the growth in health spending is evidence that the American health care system may be changing in ways that could make it more affordable in the years to come.

As my colleague Robert Pear reported, health spending in 2013 grew at the lowest rate since government officials started tracking it — back in 1960. Taken alone, that fact might not be meaningful, but 2013 is the fourth consecutive year that health spending growth has kept pace with the growth in the overall domestic economy, suggesting something more durable than random. The slowdown in health spending growth began in 2002 and has become more pronounced in recent years.

The New York Times: Inside the continuing slowdown in the growth in health spending is evidence that the American health care system may be changing in ways that could make it more affordable in the years to come.
As my colleague Robert Pear reported, health spending in 2013 grew at the lowest rate since government officials started tracking it — back in 1960. Taken alone, that fact might not be meaningful, but 2013 is the fourth consecutive year that health spending growth has kept pace with the growth in the overall domestic economy, suggesting something more durable than random. The slowdown in health spending growth began in 2002 and has become more pronounced in recent years.

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