Ageing population, insurance seen raising US health spending

New York

SPENDING on healthcare will take up an increasing proportion of the US economy over the next decade as the population ages and more people gain insurance coverage under Obamacare, a government report said.

Payments for hospitals, doctors, drugs and insurance will rise by about 5.8 per cent a year through 2024, 1.1 percentage points faster than overall economic growth, actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said on Tuesday in an annual study. Health spending will account for 19.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2024, up from 17.7 per cent last year.