Projections of National Health

This paper presents projections of national health expendi-tures by type of expenditure and sources of funds for 1980, 1985, and 1990. A major purpose of these projections is to pro-vide a baseline for health care expenditures in the absence of national health insurance and cost containment. Rapid growth in health expenditures Is projected to con-tinue to 1990. National health expenditures increased 350 per-cent between 1965 and 1978, reaching $192 billion In 1978. They are projected to reach $245 billion in 1980, $440 billion in 1985 and $760 billion In 1990, under current legislation. As a proportion of the Gross National Product (GNP), health expenditures rose from 6.2 percent to 9.1 percent between 1965 and 1978. They are projected to continue to rise, reaching 10.5 percent by 1985 and 11.5 percent by 1990. Sources of payments for these expenditures are also shift