National health spending rate increased in 2013

National healthcare expenditures grew at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in 2013, according to an analysis by the Altarum Institute. While the rate is above the 3.7 percent in 2012, this would be the fifth consecutive year of spending growth in the 4 percent vicinity.

Altarum’s analysis can be found in this week’s monthly Health Sector Economic Indicators (HSEI) brief, produced by the Altarum Center for Sustainable Health Spending. Charles Roehrig, the Center’s director, says the December 2013 year-over-year rate of 4.5 percent could signal long-expected spending acceleration as the impact of the recession wanes, but the data are preliminary and will be revised in each of the next two months, and again in July.

“As we noted last month, the data suggest an upward drift in the health spending growth rate since the first quarter of 2013, but we will await revised data before issuing a clearer verdict,” Roehrig said. “Most of our attention will be on gauging spending effects of the Affordable Care Act insurance coverage expansion that begins this year.”

The healthcare spending share of gross domestic product was 17.3 percent in December 2013, a rate that has been mostly stable since hitting its all-time high of 17.5 percent in July 2009.

National healthcare prices in December 2013 were 1.1 percent higher than in December, 2012, slightly above the all-time low of 1.0 percent in October 2013.