Social security bulletin
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The Nation spent $163 billion for health care in fiscal year 1977 or $737 per person, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Health Care Financing Administration. This figure was 12 percent higher than spending for such purposes in the previous 12 months and represented an 8.8-percent share of the GNP. ⋯ Spending for hospital care went up 14 percent to $68.4 billion, and the total spent for physicians' services ($32.2 billion) reflected a 13-percent rise. Third-party payments financed 70 percent of all personal health care in the country.