Total national health spending grew by 4 percent in 2009, the slowest rate of increase in 50 years, as people lost their jobs, lost health insurance and deferred medical care, the federal government reported on Wednesday. Still, health care accounted for a larger share of a smaller economy — a record 17.6 percent of the total economic output in 2009, the report said. The economy contracted while health spending continued to grow. The nation spent $2.5 trillion on health care in 2009, for an average of $8,086 a person, and the recession had a profound influence.
The number of visits to doctors’ offices apparently declined. Many hospitals reported fewer admissions, as patients put off medical procedures. Spending on dental services declined slightly. Many hospitals and other health care providers reduced their capital investments. Spending on doctors’ services in 2009 increased at the slowest pace since 1996, according to the new federal study, being published in the journal Health Affairs.
