Obamacare, Pricey New Drugs Send Up U.S. Health Spending

Obamacare and pricey new drugs for hepatitis, cancer and multiple sclerosis helped drive U.S. health spending to new highs, government researchers reported Wednesday.

Health spending grew by 5.3 percent to $3 trillion in 2014, experts at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found. That’s the biggest growth in five years, but much of it was to be expected as 17 million people got coverage for health care for the first time in years.

Americans now spend $9,523 per person a year on medical expenses – by far the most among developed countries.

Every year, actuaries at CMS assess…

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