U.S. health care spending stabilized as a share of the nation’s economy in 2010 as Americans decided to postpone elective surgery and use more generic drugs amid a still slumping economy, The Associated Press reports.
Overall, U.S. health care spending grew by 3.9 percent in 2010, reaching $2.6 trillion, according a report by  the Health and Human Services department.
That’s an average of $8,402 per person, which is still more spending  than any other economically advanced country. But  the increases for 2010 and 2009 were the lowest measured in 51 years.
And health care as a share of the economy leveled off at 17.9 percent, the first time in years there’s been no growth.
The slowdown in spending was a result of Americans being more frugal in their use of health care, from postponing elective surgery to using generic drugs and thinking twice about that late-night visit to the emergency room.
