A new report has projected that nursing home spending rose by 3.4% during the year 2006. That is the smallest percentage growth expected in the next decade, according to a new governmental report that offers national health expenditure projections from 2006 to 2016.

Spending on nursing homes is believed to have increased to $126.1 billion in 2006, compared with $121.9 billion in 2005, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a report issued today. Spending in the sector is expected to climb by 4.8% for 2007 and 2008 and rise even higher for upcoming years. CMS offered projections based on the 2005 version of National Health Expenditures released in January 2007.

Meanwhile, healthcare spending in the United States is believed to have increased by 6.8% in 2006 to about $2.1 trillion. This would mark the fourth consecutive year of slowing growth. Overall Medicare growth may have spiked at 22.1% in 2006. Combined federal and state Medicaid spending growth likely decelerated to 0.1% in 2006, the report said.

The health care spending report is available at  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/03_NationalHealthAccountsProjected.asp.