National health spending in 2007 was at its lowest rate of overall growth since 1998, according to a new report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS researchers said slower prescription drug spending contributed to the slowed healthcare spending.
Still, health spending growth outpaced a slowing economy and increased as a share of the gross domestic product, according to Micah Hartman, Anne Martin, Patricia McDonnell and Aaron Catlin of the CMS National Health Expenditure Accounts Team, who authored the report.
With the exception of prescription drugs, most other healthcare services grew at about the same rate as or faster than in 2006, the team said. Spending growth from private sources accelerated in 2007 as public spending slowed.
The report, published this month in (italics) Health Affairs, (end italics) presents national health expenditure estimates through 2007, with a focus on recent trends in the healthcare goods and services purchased, the sources of funds used to pay for those purchases and the sponsors of U.S. healthcare spending.
The NHE estimates included total annual spending for healthcare goods and services in the United States as well as spending for program administration, the net cost of private health insurance and government public health spending.
Pharmaceutical Care Management Association President and CEO Mark Merritt said the report shows how pharmacy benefit management tools can lower costs while expanding access to medications.
"Pharmacy benefit managers could provide even greater savings and access if policymakers work to accelerate physician adoption of electronic prescribing, support greater use of mail-service pharmacies in federal programs and empower the FDA to approve follow-on biologics and process applications for traditional generics in a timely manner," Merritt said.
The report found that several key factors contributed to slowed prescription drug spending from 8.6 percent in 2006 to 4.9 percent in 2007, including increased generic dispensing (from 63 percent of prescriptions in 2006 to 67 percent in 2007) and
slower overall growth in prescription drug prices and concerns about safety.
Researchers found that factors contributing to lower Part D spending per enrollee included lower bids by Medicare plans and
the ability of Medicare prescription drug plans to negotiate discounts and rebates from drug companies and monitor use management.
The CMS study follows a November poll by PricewaterhouseCoopers that showed three-quarters of Americans want healthcare reform during President-elect Barack Obama's first term, and that reducing healthcare costs is their first priority.
In a December 6 radio address, Obama cited a plan that includes electronic medical records for every doctor's office and hospital in the country as part of his Economic Recovery Plan.
Key healthcare stakeholders and current Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt have urged e-prescribing as a first step in physician healthcare IT adoption to lower U.S. healthcare spending.