
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 29, 1993                   TAG: 9312290138
SECTION: NATL/INTL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

U.S. HEALTH SPENDING TO EXCEED $1 TRILLION

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that health care spending in the United States would, for the first time, exceed $1 trillion next year.

Health spending will rise $118 billion, to $1.06 trillion, and will account for a record 15 percent of the nation's total output of goods and services next year, the department said.

In recent months, the Labor Department has reported that the prices charged for medical goods and services appear to be rising more slowly than at any time in nearly two decades. But the volume of medical services and procedures continues to increase, the elderly population is growing, and the health care industry is continually introducing new medical technology.

As a result, the Commerce Department said, total health spending is rising as fast as ever. Indeed, a rise of 12.5 percent next year would be bigger than any increase in more than a decade.

- The New York Times

by CNB