Health Sector Trend Report, August 2017
Trend Reports | August 28, 2017
This report examines current trends in U.S. health care spending, prices, utilization, and employment. Highlights include:
- New data suggest that health spending grew by only 4.6% in 2016. Meanwhile, Advance QSS data suggest that growth is trending further downward in 2017.
- These revised estimates accentuate the impact of expanded coverage, and its leveling off, on health services utilization.
- Health care price growth dropped to 1.6% in Q2 2017 compared to 2.0% for Q1 and 1.8% for 2016.
- Health employment growth averaged 21,000 jobs per month during the first 5 months of 2017, but unexpectedly rebounded to 38,000 during June and July.
About Altarum's Health Sector Trend Report
These reports, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provide a monthly summary of key trends in health care spending, prices, utilization, and employment.
They are related to, but distinct from, Altarum's Health Spending Health Sector Economic Indicators.
The trend reports make direct use of the Quarterly Services Survey (QSS), the timeliest source of detailed, survey-based spending information for health care services, which account for more than 70% of national health spending. Each quarter, when new QSS data are released (March, June, September, and December), we will publish an expanded version of this report with a more detailed analysis of health care services trends.
The regular monthly reports will supplement the most recent full quarterly analysis with new data on other aspects of health spending, health care prices and utilization, employment and early indications of the trends for the next quarter.
This report examines current trends in U.S. health care spending, prices, utilization, and employment. Highlights include:
- New data suggest that health spending grew by only 4.6% in 2016. Meanwhile, Advance QSS data suggest that growth is trending further downward in 2017.
- These revised estimates accentuate the impact of expanded coverage, and its leveling off, on health services utilization.
- Health care price growth dropped to 1.6% in Q2 2017 compared to 2.0% for Q1 and 1.8% for 2016.
- Health employment growth averaged 21,000 jobs per month during the first 5 months of 2017, but unexpectedly rebounded to 38,000 during June and July.
About Altarum's Health Sector Trend Report
These reports, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, provide a monthly summary of key trends in health care spending, prices, utilization, and employment.
They are related to, but distinct from, Altarum's Health Spending Health Sector Economic Indicators.
The trend reports make direct use of the Quarterly Services Survey (QSS), the timeliest source of detailed, survey-based spending information for health care services, which account for more than 70% of national health spending. Each quarter, when new QSS data are released (March, June, September, and December), we will publish an expanded version of this report with a more detailed analysis of health care services trends.
The regular monthly reports will supplement the most recent full quarterly analysis with new data on other aspects of health spending, health care prices and utilization, employment and early indications of the trends for the next quarter.