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Don't Break Out the Champagne: Continued Slowing of Health Care Spending Growth Unlikely to Last
January/February 2008
Health Affairs, Vol. 27, No. 1
Paul B. Ginsburg
Aaron Catlin and colleagues report a fourth year of slowing of the rate of growth of personal health care spending. But many factors indicate that relief for purchasers and consumers will be short-lived. Research on local health care markets suggests that rapid expansion of provider capacity and incentives to increase volume of care are continuing. Increasing incidence of obesity is a major factor behind rising costs. The influence of the economic cycle on health spending, which has lowered the trend in recent years, is likely to reverse its impact shortly.
This article is available at the Health Affairs Web site by clicking here. (Free access.)
