It was big news this week that health care spending grew at the slowest pace in 48 years - but what this deceleration in spending doesn't reveal is that the lack of affordable health insurance is hitting Americans harder than ever.

As it says in a recent article on health care in the New York Times, health care spending went up 4.4% in 2008. And while $2.3 trillion dollars in spending seems like a lot, in the past health care tended to go up around 7% or so.

The recession is, of course, the reason why people are spending less on their health. But, as the article goes on to say, the lack of affordable health insurance, combined with our poor economic situation, means that the government is picking up more of our tab.

National health spending went up 3.5% to make up for the overall decline elsewhere, as more people are forced to rely on Medicare and Medicaid for their health care.

And without affordable health insurance to fall back on, many Americans are simply letting their health go, which will cost more in the long run when they end up in the emergency room with no coverage.

So, while on the surface the drop in health care spending may appear to be good thing, in reality it's veiling a deeper issue that needs to be addressed for the sake of millions of uninsured Americans.