GDP: Health Services Accounts for 30 Percent of Health Spending Growth

Today’s second estimate of Gross Domestic Product for the third quarter indicates growth in health services spending is maintaining a disproportionate share of still slow GDP growth.

Spending on health services grew faster (5.0 percent, annualized, in current dollars) than spending on non-health services (3.9 percent) or non-health personal consumption expenditure (3.0 percent) from the second quarter. The growth in health services spending ($25.1 billion, annualized) accounted for 17 percent of all GDP growth ($151.0 billion), one fifth of personal consumption expenditure ($130.2 billion), and 30 percent of all services spending ($85.5 billion).

Read the entire entry at NCPA's Health Policy Blog.