Developments in health care costs--an update

During 1993, an estimated $910 billion was spent on health care in the United States. Health care expenditures, as a whole, continued to show a slower rate of growth in 1993 than in 1992. The medical care Consumer Price Index rose 6.0 percent in 1993 and is projected to increase only about 5.7 percent in 1994. HMO enrollment increased 7.3 percent between 1991 and 1992, with an estimated 41.4 million participants. In terms of per capita spending, health care expenditures in the United States are more than twice the average for the 24 industrial nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). As the health care reform debates continue, evidence indicates that market forces are beginning to exert an influence on the health care sector of the economy. Further, regardless of what final form health care reform will take, the role of managed care will probably continue to increase.