US health spending reaches a sixth of gross domestic product

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7535.198-a

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Janice Hopkins Tanne

New York 218, 117, 118

Total spending on health care in the United States grew by 7.9% in 2004 and now accounts for 16% of the gross domestic product, says the National Health Statistics Group of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Total health spending in the US in 2004 was $6280 (£3520; €5120) per person, or a total for the population of nearly 300 million of around $1.9 trillion, says the group's report (Health Affairs 2006;25: 186-96).

The increase is largely due to new medical treatments, rising prices, and greater use of services, the report says. “Medical …