Health care spending grew in 2005 at the slowest pace in six years thanks in part to a greater reliance on generic drugs. Health spending went up 6.9 percent in 2005, approaching $2 trillion. That represents about $1 out of every $6 spent in the U.S., compared with about $1 out of every $10 in the early 1980s. Private and public payers for health care, such as insurers, states and the federal government, have said such a spending pattern cannot be sustained without harming the economy. Some of the tools they've put in place to slow health care spending appear to have had an impact. The slower growth in 2005 is good news for consumers and taxpayers, but economists aren't confident that the trend will last.
See "Health Care Spending Up 6.9 Pct. in '05", Associated Press, The New York Times, January 8, 2007