Tag: "economic data"

Hospital Job Growth Up Vs. Other Health Jobs

The July Employment Situation Summary from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed health services jobs growing at about the same pace as other jobs: 0.18 percent growth versus 0.15 percent growth. This is a break from most previous months, when health services job growth outpaced other nonfarm civilian jobs significantly. 28,000 of the 215,000 jobs added in July were in health services.

However, there was a significant uptick in the rate of jobs growth in hospitals: Adding 16,000 jobs, hospital employment counted for significantly more than half of health services jobs growth (see Table I).

20150807 Health Workforce TI

Jobs growth in nursing care facilities continued to stagnate, where employment in has been flat for twelve months (See Table II).

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Aug 07, 2015 | 1 comment | by

Shrinking Health Construction Spending Confirmed in Public Sector

Yesterday’s release of construction spending from the U.S. Census Bureau confirms that spending on health facilities is shrinking, as I noted in my entry on last month’s construction report. Total construction spending amounted to about $1 trillion (annualized) in June, of which $40 billion was health care. Health construction spending shrank 0.9 percent from May and grew only 6.3 percent year on year, just over half the rate of growth of all other construction spending. (See Table I.)

Construction

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Aug 04, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by

The Cost of Over Insurance: National Health Expenditures Rising Again

(A version of this Health Alert was published by Forbes.)

Actuaries at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the government agency that runs those programs, have released their estimates of national health spending for 2014 through 2024:

Health spending growth in the United States is projected to average 5.8 percent for 2014–24, reflecting the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansions, faster economic growth, and population aging. Recent historically low growth rates in the use of medical goods and services, as well as medical prices, are expected to gradually increase.

The health share of US gross domestic product is projected to rise from 17.4 percent in 2013 to 19.6 percent in 2024.

It is a little too easy to say that this outbreak of higher health spending is just due to Obamacare. To be sure, Obamacare has increased health spending with only marginal improvement in access to care. However, the population is aging, too; and the actuaries also take account the positive relationship between economic growth and health spending. The actuaries expect the economy to be relatively strong over the next decade, and estimate the rate of growth of health spending will exceed the rate of growth of Gross Domestic Product by only 1.1 percent. This is less excessive than in most recent decades. Yet, it is still excessive, and a change for the worse.

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Aug 03, 2015 | 4 comments | by

Health Spending Growth Moderate in Q2?

A recent report by actuaries working for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that the rate of growth of health spending, subdued for many years, is picking up again: “The health share of US gross domestic product is projected to rise from 17.4 percent in 2013 to 19.6 percent in 2024.”

Readers of this blog’s discussion of regular releases of GDP estimates by the Bureau of Economic Analysis knew this was coming. This morning’s release of the advance estimate of second quarter GDP confirms health spending is chewing up more and more of a slow-growing economy.

Comparing Q2 2015 to Q2 2014, GDP increased by $570.5 billion, of which $106.7 billion was health services. That’s about one dollar in every five.

Comparing Q2 2015 to Q1 2015, health spending growth looks a lot tamer: $21.6 billion of $191.2 billion GDP growth. That is only one dollar in ten, about half of what it has been running at. However, the advance estimate is subject to significant revision. Last quarter’s slow growth of health spending may be idiosyncratic and/or inaccurate.

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Jul 30, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by

Producer Price Index: Pharma, Biologics Jump

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for June increased more than expected, as the effect of the drop in oil prices abated. As shown in Table I, producer price growth for health goods and services was in line with tame growth in overall PPI, which grew 0.4 percent on the month and dropped 0.7 percent on the year to June.

The exceptions were pharmaceutical preparations, which increased 2.5 percent on the month and are up 10.3 percent on the year; and biologic products (including diagnostics), which increased 3.1 percent month on month and 3.2 percent year on year.

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Jul 15, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by

Health Jobs Outpace Soft Employment Report

Health jobs keep growing faster than other civilian, nonfarm jobs. Health care added 40,000 jobs in June, almost one in five of the 223,000 jobs added. At a seasonally adjusted growth rate of 0.27 percent, health jobs continue to grow significantly faster than other jobs, which grew at 0.14 percent (see Table I).

20150702 TI

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Jul 02, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by

Shrinking Health Construction Spending: Consolidation to Blame?

This morning’s release of construction spending from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates spending on health facilities actually shrank a little in May, a significant downturn from the previous release (see Table I, below the fold). Total construction spending amounted to about $1 trillion, of which $39 billion was health care. Health construction spending shrank 0.6 percent from April and grew only 3.1 percent year on year. Total construction spending, less health, grew 0.9 percent on the month, and 8.4 percent year on year.

We look at this because other economic data indicate that health spending is consuming more of our prosperity. Low, even shrinking, spending on construction of health facilities may represent the consolidation of hospitals that many fear will lead to increasing prices.

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Jul 01, 2015 | 7 comments | by

GDP: Health Spending 43 Percent of Increase In Personal Consumption

Where is your money going? Increasingly, the answer is health care. This morning’s third estimate of first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was not as awful as previously estimated – a real decline of 0.2 percent, not 0.7 percent.

The overall drop of $7 billion was driven by a decline in exports and nonresidential structures. Personal consumption expenditures increased by $58.3 billion. However, $48.1 billion of that was services, of which $24.2 billion was health care. Almost half the quarterly increase in personal consumption was health care.

As I have noted consistently for over a year, a distressingly large share of our national prosperity is being consumed by the government-medical complex.

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Jun 24, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by

Health Spending Up, Up, and Away

The Quarterly Services Survey (QSS) is Census Bureau report that we should be watching to see how health costs are climbing. This blog last looked at it in September 2014. Fortunately, Dr. Drew Altman, CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation has been keeping a close eye on it. His conclusion:

New Evidence Health Spending Growing Faster Again

Analysis of the survey data shows that health spending was 7.3% higher in the first quarter of 2015 than in the first quarter of last year. Hospital spending increased 9.2%. Greater use of health services as well as more people covered by the ACA appear to be responsible for most of the increase. People are beginning to use more physician and outpatient services again as the economy improves. The number of days people spent in hospitals also rose. (Drew Altman, “New Evidence Health Spending Growing Faster Again,” Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2015)

The growth in number of days spent in hospital is very disconcerting. It had been on a downward trend for years. (See page 300 of this CDC report.)

Jun 19, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by

Producer Prices: Health Goods & Services Lag

Last Friday’s Producer Price Index showed a jump from April to May of 0.5 percent (seasonally adjusted). When I last looked at the PPI, it looked like prices of health goods and services were outpacing other producer prices.

The latest data show them lagging (see Table 1). Although, looking at year-on-year data, pharmaceutical products, hospitals, and nursing homes have had relatively high price increases. Price inflation for health insurance has been moderate, according to the PPI.

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Jun 17, 2015 | Leave a Comment | by
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