Healthcare spending to grow 5.8% annually

Editor's Note

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary estimates that healthcare spending will grow an average of 5.8% each year from 2014 to 2024. The estimate is higher than the projection of 5.7% made a year ago. Prior to the Affordable Care Act in 2014, healthcare spending was around 4%.

Medical prices are expected to increase more than 2% per year starting in 2016, the first increase since 2011.

1Sean P. Keehan (sean.keehan{at}cms.hhs.gov ) is an economist in the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in Baltimore, Maryland. ↵*Corresponding author Health spending growth in the United States is projected to average 5.8 percent for 2014-24, reflecting the Affordable Care Act's coverage expansions, faster economic growth, and population aging.