Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued findings that show slower growth in health spending since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. This successful cost control is consistent with data demonstrating that savings from generic medicines are at an all-time high, reaching $217 billion in 2012 and $1.2 trillion over the most recent decade, according to the 2013 Report on Generic Drug Savings in the U.S., the fifth annual report compiled by IMS Health on behalf of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA).
Overall national health expenditures grew at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in 2012, marking the fourth consecutive year of low growth, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of the Actuary reported today. Health spending as a share of gross domestic product fell slightly from 17.3 percent in 2011 to 17.2 percent in 2012. These findings will appear in the January 2014 edition of Health Affairs.
