WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) issued the following statement in response to the CMS Report that showed a 0.1% decline in National Health Expenditures (NHE) as a percent of GDP from 2011 to 2012.
“This is important news. While overall health spending has remained stable for four years in a row, this report shows that health spending as a percent of GDP has dropped for the first time since 1997. Furthermore, because of reforms to Medicare in the Affordable Care Act, Medicare per person spending growth is at a historic low, while benefits have increased. This shows that despite Republican talking points, we don’t need to end Medicare to save it."
