The Boston Globe reports on the health care “reform” passed by Mitt Romney as Mass. governor:
Spending on medical care for privately insured residents climbed 6 percent from 2007 to 2008 and another 10 percent from 2008 to 2009. That far outpaced national growth, which was 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, in those years.
Higher prices, for example, accounted for nearly all of the increase in inpatient hospital spending from 2007 to 2009. …
Read more: Mass. health care costs outpace nation.
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As Michael Cannon has pointed out, there’s a difference between an increase in spending and an increase in costs. You can, say, spend more on movie tickets next year, even if the price of tickets decrease. In this case, the Globe reports that higher prices accounted for “nearly all” of increased spending. So spending and prices (costs to the consumer, not the producer) increased together.
Don’t forget the difference between cost and price, though. If government impose price controls on insurance premiums, that does not bring the cost of the policy down. That is, what it costs insurers to offer the policy. To do that, insurers skimp on quality.
Via FIRM
