A paper in Well being Affairs by Martin, Hartman, Benson, Catlin, and The Nationwide Well being Expenditure Accounts Workforce (2022) finds that nationwide well being expenditures (NHE) rose however declined as a share of gross home product (GDP).
Well being care spending within the US grew 2.7 p.c to achieve $4.3 trillion in 2021, a a lot slower fee than the rise of 10.3 p.c seen in 2020. The slower fee of development in 2021 was pushed by a 3.5 p.c decline in federal authorities expenditures for well being care after a spike in 2020 that occurred largely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside this decline, using medical items and companies elevated in 2021. The share of the financial system accounted for by the well being sector fell from 19.7 p.c in 2020 to 18.3 p.c in 2021, nevertheless it was nonetheless greater than the 17.6 p.c share in 2019.
For these with out entry, a weblog submit summarizes the findings right here and there’s protection elsewhere right here. As said above, the decline in well being care prices (as a share of GDP) is basically to a discount in COVID-19 spending and a rise within the financial system.
Digging into some extra element, we see that institutional companies make the most important share of well being care spending. Particularly, hospital care made up 31% of price, a broad “different” class 23%, doctor companies 20% and prescribed drugs 9%. Administrative prices from authorities and well being insurers made up 7% of prices which is comparatively excessive by worldwide requirements.
How did well being care spending fluctuate by insurance coverage kind? Healthcare Dive studies:
Non-public medical insurance grew 5.8% in 2021 and remained accountable for the most important proportion of whole well being expenditures by payer kind, at 28%.
Medicare spending grew 8.4%, whereas Medicaid development remained typically steady yr over yr at 9.2%.
Out-of-pocket spending jumped 10.4%, the quickest fee of development since 1985, in accordance with the evaluation, as customers spent extra on dental companies and sturdy medical gear.
Whereas the decline in well being care spending as a share of GDP could also be thought-about a great factor, it’s unclear if this development is sustainable given the post-COVID changes within the well being care sector and broader financial system. It will likely be fascinating to see whether or not 2022 sees one other decline in well being care spending, which might be as a result of authorities reimbursement charges lagging behind inflation within the broader. Nonetheless, the information is but to be launched for 2022.
