Washington – During the next decade, the United States health-care spending will consume a greater share of the country’s economy. The spending will nearly double to around $4.3 trillion by 2017, government authorities estimated on Tuesday.

The finding comes after last month’s report which said that health care spending increased for the first time above $2.1 trillion in 2006. Health care spending accounted for 16 % of the nation’s GDP. Adding to this, the baby boomers start to come into the Medicare system, there may be a bigger shift in health care spending from the private sector to the public sector.

The report found that the U.S. healthcare spending was $2.2 trillion in 2007 and the spending will grow yearly by around 6.7 % through 2017. “Our anticipation is that increase in health expenditure is expected to be constant over the prediction, which is through next decade, at 6.7 % per annum,” said Andrea Sisko, the report co-author in a teleconference. (more…)