The cost of health care:
Snapshot: Health Care Costs 101, 2007 Edition
The fourth edition of Health Care Costs 101, an annual overview of the latest health spending trends in California and the nation, finds reasons for both hope and concern.
While spending on health care continues to moderate, the growth in health spending was twice the rate of inflation in 2005, resulting in constant pressure on government, employers, and consumers to keep up.
Among the key findings:
* Total spending on health reached $2 trillion in 2005 and is projected to reach one-fifth of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2016;* Per person spending on health care increased 77% between 1995 and 2005;* Hospitals and physician services take the largest share of the health care dollar (52%);* The growth rate for prescription drug spending is at its lowest level in 20 years; and* While out-of-pocket costs for consumers continue to rise, their share of all health care spending (15%), has declined.
Direct to Full Text
224 pages; PDF.
