Study: Slower health spending last decade driven by slower growth in cost per case

Annual growth in per capita spending for health care fell by 2.3 percentage points ($154) between 2000-2005 and 2005-2010, driven by slower growth in cost per case, according to a study by the Department of Commerce published this week in Health Affairs. Slower growth in spending for circulatory conditions (hypertension, heart failure, heart attack) accounted for more than half of the per capita spending slowdown ($86). Kidney and reproductive system diseases and endocrine system conditions (diabetes, high cholesterol, thyroid disorders) showed particularly large declines in cost per case (7.9 and 4.4 percentage points, respectively). The findings are based on a new experimental set of measures developed by the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.