Trends in medical care costs--rapid increases continue

Extensive efforts to restrain the rise in health care costs have not had a pronounced impact. The health care system in the United States has undergone significant changes, and as we entered the 1990s, a shift toward managed care was gathering momentum. Nevertheless, spending on medical care continues to rise by nearly 10 percent a year, thus increasing the percentage of GNP these costs represent. With substantial progress in lowering the rise of health care costs unlikely in the near future, the debate over some form of national program is bound to intensify.