2011 Health Spending Growth Remains Near Historic Lows

Not too long after the final data showing that 2010 saw slow spending growth economy-wide was announced ("National Health Spending Grew Slowly In 2010"), we now have preliminary data showing that last year also saw historically slow growth in health care spending.

Especially interesting is the slow growth of prices:

 

Spending on virtually everything is near historic lows...Big whoop.

 

Spending growth is the point of interest here. Even as utilization is returning post-recession spending growth is impressively low, in part because health care price inflation is so modest.

Couple those national figures with the continuing slowdown in Medicare spending growth in particular and there's plenty of reason for optimism.

 

It's easy to control costs when reimbursement rates are legislated. The result is lower cost for patients seen and fewer providers willing to see such patients. This results in fewer visits, many of which were unnecessary in the first place. Unfortunately, a few were necessary and the patient becomes either more gravely ill or worse. Of course worse reduces the monetary cost at the ultimate human cost.

Soon we will all have health insurance and no doctors to see. Happy Obamacare.