In 2015, healthcare spending in the U.S. rose to $3.2 trillion, which is a 5.5% increase in spending from 2014. Economists estimate that the national health spending rate will increase by an average of 5.8% a year in the next 10 years.
The increase in healthcare spending can be attributed to more people becoming insured under the Affordable Care Act and to Medicaid expansion, which has led to more patient visits. Higher prescription drug prices are also a reason for an increase in healthcare spending, with the spending on prescription drugs rising by 8.1% in 2015..
More consumers are also paying for their healthcare expenses out of pocket. An estimated 10.6% of healthcare spending in 2015 were from out of pocket expenses from consumers.
There was a 3.1% increase in spending from consumers enrolled in private health insurance plans, which is $5,380 per person in 2015.
The CMS does predict that healthcare spending will decrease slightly in 2016 and beyond, due to the enrollment in Medicaid and exchanges declining slightly.
Read the original article from Modern Healthcare here.
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