Health expenditures in the U.S. – statistics & facts

The United States spends more on health care than any other country. Annual health expenditures stood at over 4.2 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, and personal health care expenditure equaled 10,784 U.S. dollars per resident. Federal and state government budgets are being further stretched by the coronavirus outbreak, which is pushing health expenditures even higher. Many Americans likely faced job-cuts or illness causing them to lose their employer-based private health plans. With incomes dropping, more people became eligible for Medicaid, which is reflected in the large increase in Medicaid enrollment since the pandemic started.

Health care spending on goods and services

National health expenditures can be studied in three ways. Firstly, spending can be categorized by health care goods and services. Hospital care and physician services have been the leading spending categories for several years and combined, they account for more than half of all health spending in 2021 – the average cost of an inpatient day at a U.S. hospital was more than 3,000 U.S. dollars in 2021. The debate over drug prices shows no sign of stopping. There are concerns about the pricing policies of pharmaceutical manufacturers and growing calls to make prescription drugs more affordable, such as allowing the federal government to step in and negotiate drug prices. Elsewhere, expenditures associated with long-term health care services are increasing to support the needs of several population groups, including older adults, individuals with physical disabilities, and those with mental illnesses.

The high price of out-of-pocket medical costs

Health spending by the bill payer is another way to analyze expenditures. In general, the payer of the health care bill can be classified into private health insurance, out-of-pocket spending, and government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Private insurance is the greatest contributor, accounting for around one-third of health care expenditures. Changes to insurance policies may result in patients paying more than previous years. Out-of-pocket payments continue to increase, and this may be due to insurers moving prescription drugs to a higher copayment tier or removing certain medications from plans entirely. Higher deductibles – the amount policyholders must pay before their insurer starts to cover expenses – are another reason for higher out-of-pocket costs. Workers with employer-sponsored health insurance policies have seen their average annual deductible increase by more than 800 U.S. dollars since 2010.

How much does the federal government spend on health care?

The third way to categorize health expenditures is by sponsor or contributor, i.e., the entity that is ultimately responsible for financing the bill. Premiums, payroll taxes on earnings, and general tax revenues are all used to fund health care in the United States. Federal, state, and local governments make significant contributions to national health expenditures, with the federal government’s share amounting to nearly 34 percent of the total amount in 2021. The majority of people in the United States have private health insurance through their employer, and this coverage is financed through premiums. In employer-based insurance plans, both employers (private sector) and employees (household sector) make premium payments – most employees contributed less than 25 percent of those costs in 2022.

This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.

U.S. national health expenditure in 2022: 4.4 trillion USD

U.S. health expenditure as share of GDP: 17.3

Annual percentage change in U.S. health expenditure from previous year: 4.1%

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Private Health Insurance

U.S. Americans with private health insurance 1997-2022

National per capita health expenditure in the United States from 1960 to 2022 (in U.S. dollars)

Health Economics

U.S. national health expenditure per capita 1960-2022

Per capita out-of-pocket health care payments in the United States from 1970 to 2022 (in U.S. dollars)

Health Economics

U.S. per capita out-of-pocket health care payments 1970-2022

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Global comparison

Basic Statistic Estimated global per capita health spending 2019 & 2050
Estimated global per capita health spending 2019 & 2050
Global health spending per capita in 2019 and projection for 2050 (in U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic Per capita health expenditure in selected countries 2022
Per capita health expenditure in selected countries 2022
Per capita health expenditure in selected countries in 2022 (in U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic Health expenditure as a percentage of GDP in select countries 2022
Health expenditure as a percentage of GDP in select countries 2022
Health expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) in selected countries in 2022
Basic Statistic Countries with highest government health expenditure share 2020
Countries with highest government health expenditure share 2020
Countries with the highest share of domestic governmental health expenditure in 2020*

Overview U.S.

Premium Statistic U.S. national health expenditure 1960-2022
U.S. national health expenditure 1960-2022
U.S. national health expenditure from 1960 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic U.S. national health expenditure per capita 1960-2022
U.S. national health expenditure per capita 1960-2022
National per capita health expenditure in the United States from 1960 to 2022 (in U.S. dollars)
Basic Statistic U.S. health expenditure as percent of GDP 1960-2022
U.S. health expenditure as percent of GDP 1960-2022
U.S. national health expenditure as percent of GDP from 1960 to 2022
Basic Statistic Average annual change in U.S. national health expenditure 1960-2021
Average annual change in U.S. national health expenditure 1960-2021
Average annual percent change in U.S. national health expenditure from 1960 to 2021

Payer

Premium Statistic U.S. health care expenditure distribution by payer 2015-2023
U.S. health care expenditure distribution by payer 2015-2023
Distribution of U.S. health care expenditure from 2015 to 2023, by payer
Basic Statistic Change in health spending levels in the United States by payer 2021
Change in health spending levels in the United States by payer 2021
Annual change in health spending levels in the United States in 2021, by payer
Basic Statistic Hospital care spending in the United States by payer 2013-2021
Hospital care spending in the United States by payer 2013-2021
Hospital care services spending in the United States from 2013 to 2021, by payer (in billion U.S. dollars)
Basic Statistic Prescription drugs spending in the U.S. by payer 2013-2021
Prescription drugs spending in the U.S. by payer 2013-2021
Prescription drugs spending in the United States from 2013 to 2021, by payer (in billion U.S. dollars)

Out-of-pocket

Basic Statistic U.S. total out-of-pocket health care payments 1960-2022
U.S. total out-of-pocket health care payments 1960-2022
Total out-of-pocket health care payments in the United States from 1960 to 2022 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic U.S. per capita out-of-pocket health care payments 1970-2022
U.S. per capita out-of-pocket health care payments 1970-2022
Per capita out-of-pocket health care payments in the United States from 1970 to 2022 (in U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic Out-of-pocket share of total U.S. personal health care expenditures 2010-2022
Out-of-pocket share of total U.S. personal health care expenditures 2010-2022
Out-of-pocket share of total personal health care expenditures in the U.S. from 2010 to 2022
Basic Statistic U.S. out-of-pocket health care payments annual change 2010-2022
U.S. out-of-pocket health care payments annual change 2010-2022
Annual change of out-of-pocket health care payments in the U.S. from 2010 to 2022
Basic Statistic Health costs distribution of private insurance and out-of-pocket payments U.S. 2021
Health costs distribution of private insurance and out-of-pocket payments U.S. 2021
Health spending distribution of private insurance and out-of-pocket payments in the United States in 2021

NHE projections

Basic Statistic U.S. national health expenditure forecast 2022-2031
U.S. national health expenditure forecast 2022-2031
Forecasted U.S. national health expenditure from 2022 to 2031 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic U.S. national health expenditure per capita 2022-2031
U.S. national health expenditure per capita 2022-2031
Forecasted national per capita health expenditure in the United States from 2022 to 2031 (in U.S. dollars)
Premium Statistic U.S. health expenditure as percent of GDP 2022-2031
U.S. health expenditure as percent of GDP 2022-2031
Forecasted U.S. national health expenditure as percentage of GDP from 2022 to 2031

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Key figures

The most important key figures provide you with a compact summary of the topic of "Health expenditures in the U.S." and take you straight to the corresponding statistics.

Americans with private health insurance in 2022
61%
Detailed statistics
U.S. Americans with private health insurance 1997-2022
Share of U.S. health care expenditure in 2021
28.5%
Detailed statistics
Health spending distribution in the United States by payer 2018-2021
PHI spending on hospital care services
448 bn USD
Detailed statistics
Hospital care spending in the United States by payer 2013-2021

Total Medicaid expenditure in 2022
824 bn USD
Detailed statistics
Total Medicaid expenditure 1975-2022
Long-term care expenditure in 2021
138.9 bn USD
Detailed statistics
Medicaid long-term care services expenditures in the U.S. 1990-2021
State with highest Medicaid spending in FY 2020
California
Detailed statistics
Total Medicaid spending in the U.S. 2021, by state

Annual change in health care payments in 2021
10.4 %
Detailed statistics
U.S. out-of-pocket health care payments annual change 2010-2022
Spending on prescription drugs
378 bn USD
Detailed statistics
Prescription drugs spending in the U.S. by payer 2013-2021
Share of out-of-pocket spending on physician services
15 %
Detailed statistics
Health costs distribution of private insurance and out-of-pocket payments U.S. 2021

U.S. health care expenditure in 2031
7.1 tn USD
Detailed statistics
U.S. national health expenditure forecast 2022-2031
Medicaid spending growth in 2022
12.5%
Detailed statistics
Total and state Medicaid spending growth 2000-2023
Total Medicaid expenditure in 2027
1 tn USD
Detailed statistics
Projected total Medicaid expenditure 2020-2027