National health spending in the United States is projected to grow at an average rate of 5.5% per year through 2026, reaching $5.7 trillion by 2026. While rising prices of medical goods and services and greater disposable personal income are partially to blame, increasing healthcare costs are also a leading contributor.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) along with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) have continued to focus their policy levers to provide incentives for greater sharing of health information and to move more patients into value-based care arrangements, such as Medicare Advantage, Accountable Care Organizations, and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to improve outcomes and lower the cost of care.