Did your 2014 healthcare costs increase 5% from the previous year?
Not possible.
Never mind that I personally observed carrier increases of 5%-10% last year.
Never mind that, according to new data from the Census Bureau’s Quarterly Services Survey, the nation’s nearly $3 trillion medical bill grew 5 percent last year. A big jump, especially compared with an average annual rate of 3.9 percent from 2009 to 2013, a five-year streak of historically slow growth.
Never mind that, according to yesterday’s report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the average American spent $9,596 on healthcare last year, up significantly from $7,700 in 2007.
And especially never mind that CMS also reports healthcare spending per person is expected to surpass $10,000 in 2016 and then march steadily higher to $14,944 in 2023.
That’s 5.4% per year.
Every year.
Not possible!
Your premiums will go down.”
— President Obama, campaign speech in Cincinnati, July 16, 2012