In a recent article published in Health Affairs, the authors (Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)) have projected that healthcare expenditure in the United States for the period 2015 to 2025 to grow at an average annual growth rate of 5.8%, which is a full 1.3% higher than the projected GDP growth rate during the same period. The share of healthcare expenditure as a percent of GDP is expected to climb from 17.5% in 2014 to 20.1% in 2025!
As the effects of Affordable Care Act start to subside in the next two years, the key factors contributing to the growth of healthcare expenditure will be economy, growth in medical prices and aging population.