Yesterday, researchers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reported that U.S. health spending reached $2.5 trillion in 2009, and that health care's share of the economy grew 1.1 percentage points to 17.3 percent — the largest one-year increase since the federal government began keeping track in 1960. In a written statement, Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis said that these findings underscore the need for comprehensive health care reform that will help rein in the unsustainable spending growth that is placing an increasing burden on American families, businesses, and state and local governments.
