In the News: Medicare Spending Surges

Spending for Medicare’s prescription drug program and greater enrollment in Medicare Advantage plans accounted for an 18.7% increase in Medicare spending in 2006, the fastest rate of growth in 25 years and double that of just a year before, according to a new report released by CMS actuaries and published in the journal Health Affairs.

All told, Medicare spending rose to $401.3 billion in 2006, up from $338 billion in 2005. But spending for Medicaid fell for the first time by 0.9%, after many of the “dual eligible” beneficiaries were shifted out of the federal-state program and into Medicare.

This is an excerpt from a January 8, 2008, article from Modern Healthcare. The full story is not publicly available.