..according to this article in the NYT;
"National health spending grew in 2007 at the lowest rate in nine years, mainly because prescription drug spending increased at the slowest pace since 1963, the government reported Monday.
But other types of health spending rose at a brisk pace, pushing the total to $2.2 trillion, or 16.2 percent of the gross domestic product, a record. Spending averaged $7,421 for each person. Total health spending rose 6.1 percent, compared with a 6.7 percent increase in 2006.
The report, published in the journal Health Affairs, offers the most current and comprehensive data on the nation’s health care sector, providing a context for the sweeping changes that President-elect Barack Obama has promised."
