- Pace of U.S. Health Spending Slows in 2016 Kaiser Health News by Phil Galewitz — U.S. health spending rose to $3.3 trillion in 2016, but the pace slowed compared to the previous two years as demand for drugs, hospital care and physician services weakened, according to a federal study released Wednesday. The analysis from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) showed a shift from the dramatic escalation in health spending that accompanied the coverage gains in 2014 and 2015 as millions of Americans found insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The rate at which spending grew last year was lower across many measures — including figures for Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, prescription drugs and hospitals — than in the previous two years.
- Out-of-Pocket Health Spending in 2016 Increased at the Fastest Rate in a Decade Washington Post by Carolyn Y. Johnson — U.S. health care spending increased to $3.3 trillion in 2016, with out-of-pocket health care costs borne directly by consumers rising 3.9 percent — the fastest rate of growth since 2007. The findings, published Wednesday by Health Affairs, are considered the authoritative breakdown of American health care spending and are prepared each year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.