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2019 health expenditures increased by 4.6% according to new PRP
A new Policy Research Perspective (PRP) (PDF) from AMA Advocacy health policy provides a detailed examination of U.S. National Health Expenditures (NHE) through 2019 using data released by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). In 2019, health spending increased by 4.6% to $3.8 trillion or $11,582 per capita. This spending growth rate is in line with that of 2018 (4.7%). Health spending as a share of GDP was 17.7% in 2019, comparable with 17% in 2018.
Overall, health spending in 2019 was impacted by both the suspension of the Affordable Care Act health insurance tax and an acceleration in personal health care spending (such as hospital care and prescription drug spending). Preliminary estimates from Altarum suggest a decline in 2020 national health spending, driven by decreases in spending for most personal health expenditure categories (such as hospital care, dental services and physician and clinical services).
