NATIONAL-HEALTH CARE SPENDING IN 1991

The United States spent $751.8 billion on health in 1991, an increase of 11.4 percent over 1990 levels. National health expenditures consumed 13.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The 11.4 percent growth rate in spending is four times the rate of growth in the general economy. Medicaid contributed substantially to overall spending in 1991. Consumers' out-of pocket payments grew only 5.7 percent to a total of $144.3 billion, accounting for 19.2 percent of national health expenditures (the lowest share ever reported). Economywide price inflation accounted for 36 percent of health spending growth in 1991; increases in use and intensity of health services accounted for 30 percent of total spending growth; excess medical price inflation accounted for 25 percent, an amount that is consistent with its share throughout the 1980s.