(THE WASHINGTON POST)  Carolyn Johnson — A sharp rise in prescription drug spending, driven largely by a new generation of expensive hepatitis C drugs, helped push the nation’s health-care expenditures to $3.1 trillion in 2014 — the biggest increase since the recession.

According to a new projection published on Tuesday in Health Affairs, the U.S. is at the beginning of a period in which health-care spending will creep up after years of a slowdown in spending growth. Health spending could even modestly outpace the growth in the economy. By 2024, health care is projected to account for nearly a fifth of the gross domestic product and federal, state and local governments are expected to foot nearly half the bill.

Source: By 2024, health spending will be nearly a fifth of the economy – The Washington Post