Healthcare spending rises due to Obamacare, better economy
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Healthcare spending grew faster in 2014 than the previous five years partly because of a strengthening economy and coverage expansions through Obamacare.
New estimates released Tuesday show that estimated healthcare spending grew by 5.5 percent in 2014, well above the historic low of 4 percent from 2008 to 2013.
The study also projected a 5.8 percent rate of long-term growth in healthcare spending from 2014 to 2024. That is an increase of about one percentage point from last year's analysis, according to the annual study from the Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In addition to 2014's estimates, the agency projects that spending growth will slow slightly to 5.3 percent in 2015 and maintain that rate from 2016 to 2018.