Healthcare Costs will Reach $5.4 Trillion within 10 Years According to CMS

Healthcare expenditures are expected to grow at a slower rate than in the past, but it’s expected that the healthcare growth rate will run higher than the growth of the GDP. According to the CMS, it is projected that healthcare expenditures will grow at an average rate of 5.8% over the next decade, to reach a maximum of $5.4 trillion in 2024. Meanwhile, the GDP will grow at an average rate of 4.7%. Nonetheless, the growth rate for healthcare is still lower than in the years prior to the recession, which was an average rate of 9% a year. 

Some of the factors contributing to the growth in healthcare expenditures are insurance coverage expansions and subsidies, an aging population, and anticipated economic growth. Prescription drugs will also be a major contributor, as its growth rate rose to 12.6% in 2014 (the growth rate in 2013 was only 2.5%). 

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