Dick Resch

Has America tamed the health-cost monster? The data seems to indicate as much. Health spending has grown by about 4 percent annually over the past four years—the lowest rate in half a century. But our apparent victory may be short-lived. Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation estimate that the recession was responsible for three-quarters of the slowdown in health spending. They expect costs to increase 7 percent annually by the end of the decade, once the economy picks up again.

Has America tamed the health-cost monster? The data seems to indicate as much. Health spending has grown by about 4 percent annually over the past four years—the lowest rate in half a century. But our apparent victory may be short-lived. Researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation estimate that the recession was responsible for three-quarters of the slowdown in health spending. They expect costs to increase 7 percent annually by the end of the decade, once the economy picks up again.