Percentage growth in health spending in 2010, to $2.6 trillion, according to a report in the January 2012 issue of Health Affairs.1 The increase is only slightly more than the 3.8% increase in 2009, and it managed to keep health spending’s portion of the total economy essentially unchanged at 17.9% of GDP. Hospital spending grew 4.9% to $814 billion, which represents 30% of overall health spending and a lower rate of growth than in 2009 (6.4%).
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