Gross domestic product grew faster than health spending in July, according to an analysis from Altarum Institute, a nonprofit health systems research and consulting organization.
National health spending's share of GDP dropped to 17.8 percent in July compared to 18 percent in July 2017. Health spending hit $3.67 trillion, up 4.8 percent year over year. GDP grew 5.7 percent. Health spending grew in all categories, but physician and clinical services grew slowest, at 3.9 percent year over year.
Healthcare's share of GDP fluctuates slightly month to month. It was 18.1 percent in January. In May, healthcare's share of GDP — 17.77 percent — dropped to its lowest point since October 2015. Altarum attributes this fall to growth in GDP.
Altarum noted healthcare price growth was a modest 1.6 percent in August. Hospital price growth was 2.5 percent and physician and clinical services price growth was 0.8 percent in August.
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