Becker's ASC Review

41 H ealthcare spending grew by 5.3 percent in 2014, as millions of new people with health insurance coverage under the Af- fordable Care Act and rapidly rising prescription drug prices drove spending upward, according to a study by CMS' Office of the Actuary. Here are 10 things to know about healthcare spending in 2014. 1. Total U.S. healthcare spending hit $3 trillion in 2014. 2. Fueled largely by spending for new medicines, particularly specialty drugs, spending on pre- scription drugs grew by 12.2 percent in 2014, compared to 2.4 percent growth in 2013. 3. Total private health expenditures, which rep- resented 33 percent of total healthcare spending in 2014, grew 4.4 percent last year, reaching $991 billion. at's compared to spending growth of 1.6 percent in 2013 — the slowest rate since 1967. 4. e faster rate of growth for private health ex- penditures was attributable to several factors, in- cluding expanding health coverage through the ACA marketplace plans. e insured share of the population increased from 86 percent in 2013 to 88.8 percent in 2014. 5. Medicare spending, which represented 20 per- cent of total healthcare spending in 2014, grew 5.5 percent last year to $618.7 billion. at's com- pared to spending growth of 3 percent in 2013. 6. Sixteen percent of national healthcare spending was attributable to Medicaid spending in 2014. Medicaid spending grew 11 percent last year, reaching $495.8 billion, a faster increase than the 5.9 percent growth in 2013. 7. Medicaid spending growth was fueled by cover- age expansion under the ACA. 8. Out-of-pocket spending, which includes direct consumer payments such as copayments, deduct- ibles and spending not covered by insurance, grew 1.3 percent in 2014 to $329.8 billion, slower than annual growth of 2.1 percent in 2013. 9. Total healthcare spending grew 1.2 percentage points faster than the overall economy last year, resulting in a 0.2 percentage-point increase in the health spending share of gross domestic product — from 17.3 percent to 17.5 percent. 10. From 2000 to 2009, the decade prior to the ACA, healthcare spending grew by an average of 6.9 percent annually, 2.8 percentage points faster than GDP. n Healthcare Spending Hits $3T Under ACA: 10 Things to Know By Ayla Ellison Cut your hidden shipping costs Surgery centers are paying too much for freight — let us manage it for you Save 30–50 percent 1 now with OptiFreight® Logistics We've helped hospitals cut their direct shipping costs for more than 10 years. Every day, you pay freight costs on products shipped direct from vendors. Surgery centers have the same savings opportunity — you just need to know where to look. Surgery centers save an average of $6,500 1 annually by letting us manage their freight costs. It's easy to do. It just takes a few minutes to set up. To start saving at your surgery center, contact: Jason Absten OptiFreight®Logistics 614.757.2099 jason.absten@cardinalhealth.com © 2015 Cardinal Health. All Rights Reserved. CARDINAL HEALTH, the Cardinal Health LOGO, ESSENTIAL TO CARE and OPTIFREIGHT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cardinal Health. Lit. no. 2OFL15-421521 (11/2015) 1 Based on surgery center shipments through OptiFreight® Logistics during January 1 – December 31, 2014. Individual savings may vary. 2OFL15-431064 - OptiFreight Logistics ASC Becker's webinar ad-wkg.indd 1 12/10/15 2:08 PM

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