[20070313]RS22619_医疗支出与人口老龄化.pdf

1 The 21% share is for 2006. See U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO), The Budget andEconomic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2008 to 2017, Jan. 2007, p. 50.2 For more information on the budget impact of an aging population, see CRS Report RS22008,Federal Spending for Older Americans, by April Grady and William Joseph Klunk; and CBO,The Long-Term Budget Outlook, Dec. 2005. Order Code RS22619March 13, 2007Health Care Spending and the Aging of the PopulationJennifer JensonSpecialist in Health EconomicsDomestic Social Policy DivisionSummaryHealth care spending has been growing as a share of national income, as a share offederal spending, and as a share of many consumers income. Because people tend touse more health care as they age, many observers are concerned that an aging populationwill accelerate growth in health care spending, and that such growth will lead toeconomic and fiscal crisis.Over the next several decades, both national and federal spending on health careare expected to grow rapidly for two basic reasons. The first is changing demographics.As the share of older people in the population grows, health spending also will grow toreflect generally higher per capita health care costs