Report: Some Good News California Health Care Spending Grows, Rate Slows

 

Despite my gloomy report yesterday on the failures of many medical and group practices, todays statistics offer some encouragement.

Total spending on health care in California grew by almost 300% from 1991 to 2009, but the state's spending growth rate has slowed in recent years, according to a new report from the California HealthCare Foundation, the Los Angeles Times' "Money & Co." reports.

According to the CPI as published by the U.S. Dept. of Labor the overall rate of inflation for the CPI is 2.7% for the last 12 mos. (03/12) and 0.3 for 03/12.

Medical care commodities             

                        09/11  10/11 11/11 12/11 01/12 02/12   03/12     
                            2    .3    .2    .2    .6    .8    .4         0.8           0.4     end 03/12 3.3

CHCF publishes California Healthline.

Report Findings

According to the report, "Since reaching its peak of 9.7% in 2003, the pace of growth in health spending has been decelerating. By 2009, towards the end of the recession, spending grew [by] 4.5%, similar to the U.S. rate of 4.6%, and the slowest pace since 1999." Although medical inflation continues to exceed the general increase in the CPI the rate of increase is declining,  with the general CPI at 2.7%  and the Medical CPI at 3.3%

The report also found that:

• Health care spending in California per capita in 2009 was $6,238, the ninth-lowest in the U.S.;
  
• Spending on health care accounted for 12.2% of California's economy, a smaller portion than most states;
  
• Hospital and physician services accounted for the majority of health care spending, at 63%; and
  
• Medicare and Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program, accounted for nearly 40% of the state's health care spending, compared with 27% in 1991 (McMahon, "Money & Co.," Los Angeles Times, 5/9).

 

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