National health spending trends, 1960-1993

In 1993 the nation spent $884.2 billion on health care, a 7.8 percent increase from 1992. Although this spending growth was among the lowest rates of growth recorded since 1960, it is too soon to tell whether slower growth in health spending is a new trend or merely a temporary perturbation in the long-term trend. The portion of the economy devoted to health care increased from 13.6 percent in 1992 to 13.9 percent in 1993--a 0.3 percentage point increase that equaled the average rate of increase recorded since 1960. The federal government's share of the total health care bill rose between 1991 and 1993, the first significant change in the share of the nation's health care bill funded by the federal government since the early 1970s.