National health expenditures, 1999

The health care spending share of gross domestic product (GDP) remained steady between 1993 and 1999 as moderate-to-strong economic growth coincided with a rapid shift to managed care. This shift, along with decelerating growth in Medicare spending, appears to have generated a mostly one-time saving that lowered aggregate health expenditure growth.

Trends in state health care expenditures and funding: 1980-1998

Health care spending estimates constitute an important public policy tool, providing a broad look at historical trends in unique State health care systems. The State health expenditure estimates presented here detail spending for the 50 States and the District of Columbia for calendar years 1980-1998. They include expenditure estimates for specific service types as well as for two major sources of funding--Medicare and Medicaid. In this article, the authors address health care's role in State economies, trends in major service sectors and payers, and factors influencing these trends.

National health expenditures, 1998

In 1998, national health care expenditures reached $1.1 trillion, an increase of 5.6 percent from the previous year. This marked the fifth consecutive year of spending growth under 6 percent. Underlying the stability of the overall growth, major changes began taking place within the Nation's health care system. Public payers felt the initial effects of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), and private payers experienced increased health care costs and increased premium growth.

National health expenditures, 1997

In 1997 health spending in the United States increased just 4.8 percent to $1.1 trillion. As a share of gross domestic product (GDP), national health expenditures (NHE) absorbed 13.5 percent of the country's output in 1997--a share that has remained relatively constant for 5 years. Despite the relative stability in recent years, signs of changing trends are emerging.