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Climbing Healthcare Costs Set a Record
By: alyssa g
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Thu, 02/04/2010 - 09:15
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Even in the midst of a recession, spending on healthcare jumped to a record 17.3 percent of the economy last year--the largest one-year increase in 50 years, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Nearly $2.9 trillion was spent on healthcare in 2009, $134 billion more than in 2008, when healthcare made up 16.2 percent of the gross domestic product, according to a report by the non-partisan Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Spending on government programs account for a large part of the growth, with Medicaid spending rising 10 percent and Medicare rising 8 percent last year.
Without healthcare reform to rein in costs, the report indicates that medical costs will consume an even greater share of our economy even while fewer people can afford coverage.
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