Last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released data showing that total national health spending increased by less than 4 percent in 2009 and 2010, the slowest annual pace in five decades. Writing in the New York Times (“In Hopeful Sign, Health Spending is Flattening Out [2]”), Annie Lowrey discusses factors contributing to this trend. Many experts point to the weak economy as a chief cause.