More Middle Class Dollars Going to Health Care Costs
While Washington continues to talk up the improving economy, the reality is rising health care costs are taking a bigger bite out of consumer wallets, forcing changes to consumer spending habits. In other words, yet another reason for the continued Cash-strapped Consumer mentality among the domestic middle class. The other shoe is what rising out-of-pocket health-care costs mean for an economy in which consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of overall output.
Growth in overall health-care spending is slowing, but middle-class families’ share of the tab is getting larger, squeezing households already feeling stretched financially.
Overall, health-care spending across the economy reached 18.2% of gross domestic product as of June, up from 13.3% in 2000, according to Altarum Institute, a health research group.However, the mix of who pays has evolved. The government has taken on a larger share in recent years as more people age into Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid and provided subsidies for low-income people buying insurance on state exchanges. Middle-class households are finding more of their health-care costs are coming out of their own pockets.
Source: Burden of Health-Care Costs Moves to the Middle Class – WSJ
