January 31, 2022
Healthcare spending surged during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic even as spending on direct care slowed significantly, according to new data. There are no easy solutions to make spending on hospital care more efficient within the current payment structure, a healthcare economist said. Public health should be a greater emphasis in healthcare spending policies, another expert said. Newly reported healthcare spending patterns from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic reflect an industry trying to get its bearings amid both a public health emergency and daunting long-term trends.