CMS projects next decade of health expenditures: 5 takeaways

By Ayla Ellison

National health spending is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.6 percent from 2016 through 2025, with expenditures projected to hit $5.5 trillion in 2025, according to new estimates from CMS’ Office of the Actuary published Wednesday in Health Affairs.

Although congressional Republicans are working on a plan to repeal and replace the ACA, it isn’t possible to determine the impact of potential policy changes on health spending and health insurance at this time. Therefore, the national health expenditure projections are constructed using current law and do not assume potential legislative changes over the projection period.

Here are five takeaways from the CMS report.