clipped from: www.reuters.com Total U.S. health-care spending hit $2.1 trillion in 2006, a 6.7 percent rise from 2005, analysts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said. That was up from a 6.5 percent increase in 2005 and amounted to $7,026 per person.
By comparison, the overall U.S. economy grew by 6.1 percent and inflation was recorded at 3.2 percent in 2006.
About half of the cost increase was due to more use of prescription drugs, which the researchers attributed partly to Medicare's new coverage. Insomnia drugs experienced faster growth than any other class, the report said. Continued...