U.S. spends 18 percent of GDP on health care
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This is a ratio that is highest among all developed economies, said a recent study.
U.S. national health spending reached $3.51 trillion (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in August 2017, 4.3 percent higher than that of August 2016, according to a research released by Altarum's Center for Sustainable Health Spending, a health systems research organization.
The research found U.S. health spending expanded faster than the economy, as nominal GDP growth rate in the same time period stood at 4.1 percent.
American's health care spending has been growing faster than the economy for years, although the gap was narrowed in the last two years thanks to faster GDP growth rate.
The White House announced Thursday it will end subsidies to health insurance companies that help lower out-of-pocket costs for low-income customers, another move intended to unravel the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. ■