Prognosis
US Health Spending Edges Past $4.3 Trillion as Covid Drags On
Regular care patterns resumed in 2021 after pandemic began fading
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The US health-care bill edged past $4.3 trillion, or almost $13,000 for every American, as pandemic spending increases slowed in 2021.
The 2.7% increase in spending last year reflects the public’s return to more regular care patterns that were disrupted in 2020, federal actuaries said Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs. That year, the flood of federal money that went to hospitals and public-health efforts helped nationwide health layouts increase 10.3% from 2019.