The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have released new estimates for health care spending over the next decade, with total health care spending tipped to reach $3.5 trillion by the end of 2017. One of the major drivers of healthcare spending trends over the next decade is the aging population, Gigi Cuckler, an economist with the Office of the Actuary's National Health Statistics Group and one of the report's lead authors, said at a press briefing Wednesday. The estimates that a 4.6 percent increase in 2017 will outstrip the health costs rise of 2016 which reached 4.3 percent. CMS’s report also continues its 2016 prediction that growth in health care spending will outstrip GDP by a single percentage point up until 2026 to eventually account for 19.7 percent of GDP by 2026. Alongside this, Medicare spending is expected to increase markedly as more of the baby boomer generation becomes eligible for coverage, driving a shift away from private insurance and an annual increase of up to 7.4 percent. In addition to these projected increases, CMS projects that healthcare expenditures are set to grow at a slower rate than GDP. Spending in private insurance is expected to rise by 4.7 percent, a growth slowdown driven by an increase in enrollment in high-deductible health plans and the repeal of the individual mandate. Additional expectations include a continued and significant rise in drug prices and the continued un-insurance of young and healthier people.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have released new estimates for health care spending over the next decade, with total health care spending tipped to reach $3.5 trillion by the end of 2017. The estimates that a 4.6 percent increase in 2017 will outstrip the health costs rise of 2016 which reached 4.3 percent. CMS’s report also continues its 2016 prediction that growth in health care spending will outstrip GDP by a single percentage point up until 2026 to eventually account for 19.7 percent of GDP by 2026. Alongside this, Medicare spending is expected to increase markedly as more of the baby boomer generation becomes eligible for coverage, driving a shift away from private insurance and an annual increase of up to 7.4 percent. In addition to these projected increases, CMS projects that healthcare expenditures are set to grow at a slower rate than GDP. Spending in private insurance is expected to rise by 4.7 percent, a growth slowdown driven by an increase in enrollment in high-deductible health plans and the repeal of the individual mandate. Additional expectations include a continued and significant rise in drug prices and the continued un-insurance of young and healthier people.