Critics and supporters of the health care reform bill that was signed into law earlier this year are both latching on to a report from economists at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the impact that the reform bill will have on health care spending.
While critics of the reform bill have pointed to data from the report showing that national health care spending will increase at a slightly faster rate under the bill, the White House has highlighted a decrease in spending per person.
The report from the CMS Office of the Actuary predicted average annual growth in national health care spending over the next decade of 6.3 percent, a modest increase from the 6.1 percent average annual growth anticipated before the bill was passed.
Additionally, after implementation of the health care reform bill, health care spending is expected to account for 19.6 of gross domestic product in 2019, up from the previously projected 19.3 percent.
"In the aggregate, it appears that the affordable care act will have a moderate effect on health spending growth rates and the health care share of the economy, said Andrea Sisko, a CMS economist and the lead author of the study.
Critics of the reform bill argue that while modest, the slightly faster than expected increase in the pace of spending growth contradicts President Barack Obama's claims that the bill would reduce health care costs.
However, Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Reform, noted that the report also showed that health care spending per insured American will be more than $1,000 lower due to the addition of 32.5 million people to the rolls of the insured.
"Specifically, by 2019, overall health spending per insured person will average $14,720 instead of the $16,120 projected by the Actuary before the Act was enacted into law," DeParle wrote in a White House blog post."This is great news for many Americans."
She also noted that the report predicts that out of pocket health care spending per person will decline an average of 6 percent to $1,310, a savings of $80 per person per year.
While DeParle noted that the additions of millions of uninsured Americans to the insurance rolls will result in a short-term increase in spending, she said, "The rate of growth in spending will slow in the second half of this decade."
"A close look at this report's data suggest that for average Americans, the Affordable Care Act will live up to its promise," she added.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.