U.S. health care spending by both the public and private sectors grew at a rate of 6.1 percent to $2.2 trillion in 2007, down from growth of 6.7 percent in 2006. In fact, based on figures from CMS' Office of the Actuary published in the journal Health Affairs, the 2007 growth rate is the slowest recorded since 1998. On the other hand, health care spending consumed 16.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product in 2007, an all-time high. Hospital spending increased 7.3 percent, and spending on doctors grew 5.9 percent.
As for DME, a report from VGM CFO/CIO Mike Mallaro points out that with a growth rate of 0.9 percent, "the data shows that DME expenditures grew at a lower rate than any other category of health expenditures in 2007. This is the second consecutive year that DME has been the health care category with lowest growth rate."
