CMS Reports Record Healthcare Cost of Staggering $3.8 Trillion Pre-COVID-19

A recent report released by CMS notes that healthcare spending rose nearly 5 percent in 2019, equivalent to $3.8 trillion. A third of the total cost was due to hospital care, which rose by 6.2 percent and accounted for $1.2 trillion. Physician costs, clinical services, and prescription drug prices also increased in 2019.

According to CMS economist Anne Martin, “Health care spending in 2019 increased at about the same rate as it had in 2018 and was similar to the average annual growth since 2016.” She adds, “This relative stability in health care spending growth over the last four years preceded the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The full impact of the pandemic on the health care sector is still not known, but it will certainly have profound consequences on the provision and consumption of health care in 2020 and perhaps beyond.” Read more here.

(Source: Jacqueline LaPointe, Revcycle Intelligence, 12/17/20)