The nation’s total health expenditures rose 7.5% to $4.9 trillion in 2023, a new analysis by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found.

This growth took place at a faster pace in 2023 than prior years. In 2022, health care spending rose at a rate of 4.6%. Total Medicare hospice spending accounted for $25.7 billion last year, according to a separate report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).

“In 2023, private health insurance and Medicare spending grew faster than in 2022, while Medicaid spending and enrollment growth slowed as the COVID-19 public health emergency ended,” CMS indicated in its report, published in Health Affairs. “The health sector’s share of the economy in 2023 was 17.6%, which was similar to its share of 17.4% in 2022, but lower than in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The rate of increase for health care spending last year surpassed growth in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, which rose 2.9%. The accelerated health care expenditures reflected growth in non-price-related factors, including the utilization and intensity of services.

About 21% of U.S. health care spending in 2023 was via Medicare, with private insurance representing a 30% share. Medicaid accounted for 21%, and the remaining 10% were out-of-pocket costs.

“Hospital care, physician and clinical services, and nursing care facilities and continuing care retirement communities, which collectively accounted for 33% of all out-of-pocket spending in 2023, were the main contributors to the faster growth in 2023,” CMS indicated.