CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2016
December 2, 2016
Contact: CMS Media Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS
Media Inquiries
CMS
Releases 2015 National Health Expenditures
In 2015, per-capita health care
spending grew by 5.0 percent and overall health spending grew by 5.8 percent,
according to a study by the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) published today as a Web
First by Health Affairs. Those annual rates continue to be
below the rates of most years prior to passage of the Affordable Care Act. And,
even as millions of people gained coverage, per-enrollee spending growth in
private health insurance and Medicare continue to be well below the average in
the decade before passage of the Affordable Care Act.
The report concludes that 2015
expenditure growth was primarily the result of increased use and intensity of
services as millions gained health coverage, as well as continued significant
growth in spending for retail prescription drugs. Spending on prescription
drugs increased 9.0 percent in 2015, lower than the 12.4 percent growth in
2014, yet significantly higher compared to 2.3 percent growth in 2013. On a
per-enrollee basis, overall spending increased by 4.5 percent for private
health insurance, 1.7 percent for Medicare, and 3.8 percent for Medicaid.
"Our significant progress in
reducing the nation's uninsured rate, while providing strong protections for
Americans if they get sick, would not be possible without the Affordable Care
Act," said CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt. "As millions more
Americans have obtained health insurance, per-person cost growth remains at
historically modest levels."
The report noted that over a
two-year period, 20.0 million individuals either gained private health
insurance coverage or enrolled in the Medicaid program, primarily as the result
of the Affordable Care Act. The share of the population with health coverage
increased from 86.0 percent in 2013 to 90.9 percent in 2015.
Health care spending grew 2.1
percentage points faster than the overall economy in 2015, resulting in a 0.4
percentage-point increase in the health spending share of gross domestic
product (GDP) – from 17.4 percent in 2014 to 17.8 percent in 2015. In the
decade prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (2000-2009), health care
spending increased 2.8 percentage points faster than GDP, on an annual average
basis.
Additional highlights from the
report:
- Total per-enrollee private
health insurance spending increased by 4.5 percent in 2015,
compared to average growth in per-enrollee spending of 7.4 percent during
2000-2009. Overall, private health insurance expenditures (33 percent
of total health care spending) reached $1.1 trillion in 2015, and
increased 7.2 percent in 2015. The faster rate of growth reflected
increased enrollment in private health insurance associated with coverage
expansions under the Affordable Care Act, and a notable increase in the
enrollment in employer-sponsored plans.
- Per-enrollee
Medicare spending increased by 1.7 percent, about the
same rate as in 2014 and below the average annual growth in per-enrollee
spending during 2000-2009 of 7.0 percent (or 5.8 percent when Medicare
Part D, which was implemented in 2006, is excluded). Medicare spending,
which represented 20 percent of national total health care spending in
2015, grew 4.5 percent to $646.2 billion, slightly slower than the 4.8
percent growth in 2014 even as the leading edge of the baby boom
generation joined Medicare. The 2015 rate of growth reflected mixed trends
among services compared to 2014 as Medicare hospital spending growth
slowed and nursing home and home health care spending grew faster.
Medicare prescription drug spending continued to grow by double digits
with an 11.0 percent increase in 2015 following a 14.5 increase in 2014.
- Overall
Medicaid spending and enrollment grew at a slower rate in
2015 than in 2014 with per-enrollee Medicaid spending increasing 3.8
percent. Medicaid spending, which totaled $545.1 billion, accounted for 17
percent of total spending on health care. Similarly, growth in
Medicaid enrollment slowed to 5.7 percent in 2015, significantly lower
than the 2014 increase of 11.1 percent.
- Out-of-pocket
spending ($338.1 billion), which includes direct consumer payments such as
copayments, deductibles, and spending not covered by insurance, excluding
premiums, grew 2.6 percent in 2015, compared to average annual growth in
out-of-pocket spending during 2000 and 2009 of 4.6 percent. From 2008
through 2015, average annual growth of out-of-pocket spending was 1.9
percent, lower than the average annual growth in overall health spending
of 4.3 percent during that same time period. As a result, the share of
out-of-pocket spending of total health expenditures fell from 13 percent in
2007 to 11 percent in 2015.
- Retail
prescription drug spending continued to outpace overall health
expenditure growth in 2015, increasing 9.0 percent to $324.6 billion after
rising 12.4 percent in 2014. Growth in prescription drug spending was
faster than that of any other service in 2015. Recent rapid growth was due
to increased spending for new medicines (particularly for specialty drugs
such as those used to treat hepatitis C), price growth in existing
brand-name drugs, increased spending on generics, and a decrease in the
number of expensive blockbuster drugs whose patents expired.
- In 2015, the
federal government and households accounted for the largest shares of
spending (29 percent and 28 percent respectively), followed
by private businesses (20 percent),
and state and local governments (17 percent).
The CMS Office of the Actuary’s report will appear on the CMS website at: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/NationalHealthAccountsHistorical.html.
An article about the study is also
being published by Health Affairs as a Web First (http://content.healthaffairs.org/lookup/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1330) and
will also appear in the journal’s January issue.
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