Health-care costs surge

Health care spending in the United States surged to $1.6 trillion in 2002 -- about $5,440 for every American -- and outpaced growth in the rest of the economy for a fourth straight year.

Hospital spending and prescription drug costs fueled the 9.3 percent increase over 2001, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Thursday.

Early indications, however, are that growth in spending slowed in 2003, according to the report, published in the journal Health Affairs.

The annual report analyzes spending trends in the public and private health care sectors.

The United States spends more per person than any other developed nation, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. For 2001, this country spent 47 percent more per person than Switzerland, the second biggest spender per capita, the OECD said.-- The Associated Press