Statistics, Factual References (Gov't)

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2021 National Health Costs at $12,914 per person Editor's Pick

National Health Costs for 2021 reached an estimated level of $12,914 per capita (per person). Which means every man, woman and child spent on average, over $35 EACH DAY (either through insurance, out-of-pocket costs or taxes) to pay for America’s healthcare. This represented 18.3 percent of GDP, $4.3 trillion. Total health spending increased 2.7% in 2021. However, the percent of GDP devoted to health declined by 1.4 points from 2020. This is due to the overall economy growing 10.7% during the year, resulting in healthcare taking up a smaller proportion. Federal government spending on healthcare went down 3.5%, compared to nearly 37% growth during the first year of the pandemic. Federal COVID-19 supplemental funding went down almost 63% from 2020.

Medicare spending grew 8.4%,compared to 3.6% in 2020. Medicaid growth was 9.2%, similar to 9.3% in 2020. Private insurance increased by 5.8%, partly due to higher enrollment. Out of pocket increased by 10.4% as people returned to using services during 2021. Dental spending rose 16.1% in 2021. Retail prescription drug spending was up another 7.8%. Nursing home and retirement community spending declined by 7.9%. CMS data published December 2022.

Compare Countries on Healthcare

Compare countries on healthcare. Read the results of an in-depth study to compare US healthcare and 10 other highest-income countries (UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark). Both costs and factors such as health status, utilization, salaries and prices paid were examined. Prices for labor, pharmaceuticals and administrative costs appeared to be the major drivers of the higher US costs. Authors suggest policy makers consider these data in making decisions. Published in the respected JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association, March 13, 2018.

Estimates of Uninsured in Each County, US Census Bureau Editor's Pick

Estimates of the number and percent uninsured under age 65, by state and county for 2020, provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) released August 2022. Once you’ve located your counties of interest, click on it to see the actual numbers and recent trends. The first year that subsidized insurance was available on the health insurance exchange was 2014. Uninsured rates in the US declined steadily from 2013 when the uninsured rate was 16.8% through 2016 when it reached a low of 10.0%. Since 2016, the average percent uninsured has crept up somewhat to 10.4% in 2020. Compare your county’s rate to your state and the US.

How Good is US healthcare?

Just how good is US healthcare? Compare the United States with Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, UK and many other countries on longevity, key healthcare performance measures, and non-medical determinants such as smoking and obesity. 2022 interactive database shows relative actual scores from OECD’s international 2020 and 2021 results. Older results are also shown. In general, the database is complex due to its detail. Many people will have difficulty finding the higher level comparisons they wish. Trends in health expenditures as a percent of GDP are shown. The US outranks all at 17.8% share of GDP (estimated for 2021). An interesting comparison is that the US topped all other countries with 42.8% measured obesity in the total population in 2019, compared to the next country of Mexico at 36% (2018-2020 data). Find obesity under Non-Medical Determinants of Health. Countries like Japan and Korea came in at a 5-7% range. Updated November 2022.

Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Summary Data Tables

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey has a set of summary data tables. All summary tables from the two components of the most recent MEPS: Household Component and Insurance Component. Find out medical care use, and employer-based health insurance coverage. Trends are in graph form, as well as numbers. No pre-printed graphs, just the interactive tool. As of September 2022, data available through 2020.

Health, United States Chartbook for 2020-2021 Editor's Pick

Annual United States Chartbook on Health is a report on trends in health statistics.  Publication: Health, United States, 2020-2021 edition, by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The most recent Chartbook is only in online form by topic. It contains text and figures showing long term trends in the health and healthcare of Americans; most data to 2019;  includes trend tables and figures with charts. Published  by CDC August 2022.