The United States spent nearly $1.7 trillion on health care in 2003, devoting a record 15.3 percent of total economic output to medical care, according to government figures released Tuesday.
The annual figures show that yearly expansions in spending slowed for most areas of health care, including prescription drugs, hospital services, and payouts by private insurers. But at the same time they also show an acceleration in consumers’ out-of-pocket spending for medical services, an indication that patients are being forced to shoulder an increasing share of the rising cost of their care, analysts say.
The year 2003 marked the first time in history that national health spending topped 15 percent of the gross domestic product, with the nation now spending $5,760 per capita for medical care, according to the figures released by the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
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