Chart 1.2: Annual Percent Change in Total National Health Expenditures (NHE), 1980-2021
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary. Data released December 2022.
Notes:
(1) CMS completed a benchmark revision in 2019, introducing changes in methods, definitions and source data that are retroactively applied to the entire time series. For more information on this revision, see https://www.cms.gov/files/document/summary-benchmark-changes-2019.pdf
(2) National Health Expenditure (NHE) are expressed in the current year's dollar, 2021.
(3) "The 2021 National Health Expenditures (NHE) Report found that U.S. health care spending grew 2.7% to reach $4.3 trillion in 2021, slower than the increase of 10.3% in 2020. The slower growth in 2021 was driven by a 3.5% decline in federal government expenditures for health care that followed strong growth in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic response. This decline more than offset the impact of greater use of health care goods and services and increased insurance coverage in 2021. " https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/national-health-spending-grew-slightly-2021