Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Tantalus health care
For those of you keeping score at home the count is now $1.9 trillion spent on health care in the US — an average of $6,280 a person, and 16 percent of GDP. Another area in which America proudly leads the world! Heh.
The rate of growth in health spending slowed in 2004, but it's still substantially higher than trends in earnings, which are the key to being able to afford health care. Health insurance is becoming less affordable to more people. As usual, health spending grew faster than the economy or consumer prices. The Consumer Price Index, a widely used measure of inflation, increased 3.3 percent in 2004.
The rate of growth in health spending slowed in 2004, but it's still substantially higher than trends in earnings, which are the key to being able to afford health care. Health insurance is becoming less affordable to more people. As usual, health spending grew faster than the economy or consumer prices. The Consumer Price Index, a widely used measure of inflation, increased 3.3 percent in 2004.
