NATIONAL-HEALTH SPENDING TRENDS, 1960-1993

In 1993 the nation spent $884.2 billion on health care, a 7.8 percent increase from 1992. Although this spending growth was among the lowest rates of growth recorded since 1960, it is too soon to tell whether s lower growth in health spending is a new trend or merely a temporary p erturbation in the long-term trend. The portion of the economy devoted to health care increased from 13.6 percent in 1992 to 13.9 percent in 1993-a 0.3 percentage point increase that equaled the average rate of increase recorded since 1960. The federal government's share of the t otal health care bill rose between 1991 and 1993, the first significan t change in the share of the nation's health care bill funded by the f ederal government since the early 1970s.