HEALTH

Medical Inflation Slows: Medical inflation last year was the lowest in seven years and among the lowest in more than three decades. Federal health officials reported Tuesday that Americans spent an average of $3,299 apiece on health care in 1993, or $205 more than for the previous year. The total bill came to $884 billion, or 7.8% more than in 1992. That was the slowest rate of increase since 1986 and the third lowest since 1960, according to the Health Care Financing Administration. Health care’s share of the gross domestic product rose to 13.9% from 13.6% in 1992. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala noted that health expenditures still rose 2.4 percentage points faster than the overall economy in 1993 as measured by the GDP.