National Health Spending in 2011: Overall Growth Remains Low, but Some Payers and Services Show Signs of Acceleration

Health care spending rose 3.9% in 2011 to $2.7 trillion, the third year in a row of slow growth and comparable to growth in the national gross domestic product (GDP). Health spending hovered around 17.9% of GDP from 2009 through 201 1. Yet personal health care spending rose from 3.7% in 2010 to 4.1% in 201 1, with higher expenditures for drugs, physicians and clinics. In 2011 the rise in Medicaid spending slowed from 5.9% to 2.5% with a 3.2% enrollment increase. At the same time, spending for Medicare rose 6.2% with costs per enrollee rising 3.6%. Private health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs also accelerated. These changes occurred in the context of slow growth in incomes, jobs and GDP, which contribute to lower health care spending.