New York Times: Growth of Health Spending Stays Low
WASHINGTON — National health spending climbed to $2.7 trillion in 2011,
or an average of $8,700 for every person in the country, but as a share
of the economy, it remained stable for the third consecutive year, the
Obama administration said Monday.
The rate of increase in health spending, 3.9 percent in 2011, was the same as in 2009 and 2010 — the lowest annual rates recorded in the 52 years the government has been collecting such data.
Federal officials could not say for sure whether the low growth in health spending represented the start of a trend or reflected the continuing effects of the recession, which crimped the economy from December 2007 to June 2009. ...
