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National health spending in August 2015 was 5.7% higher than in August 2014. Prescription drug spending grew the fastest of the major categories at 9.2% year over year, though down from its multi-year high of 14.6% in December 2014.
The health sector added 40,500 new jobs in August and totaled 314,000 jobs through the first 8 months of 2015, nearly twice the number added during the first 8 months of 2014.
National health spending in June 2015 was 5.7% higher than in June 2014, down from the 8-year high growth rate of 6.7% in the first quarter of 2015.
The health sector continued its strong job growth in June with the addition of 40,100 new jobs.
National health spending in April 2015 was 6.2% higher than in April 2014. At $3.2 trillion, health spending now represents 18.2% of gross domestic product, a new all-time high.
The health services sector added 45,000 jobs in April 2015, continuing the surge that began roughly 1 year ago.
National health spending grew by 5.2% in 2014, and preliminary estimates show 6.6% growth in February 2015 compared to February 2014.
Preliminary estimates indicate that national health spending grew by 5.7% in January 2015 compared with January 2014, suggesting that the strong growth in the latter half of 2014 is carrying forward into the new year.