[PDF] Health Care Expense

How much does the US spend on health care?

How much did the US government spend on healthcare in 2019? U.S. health care spending grew 4.6 percent in 2019, reaching $3.8 trillion or $11,582 per person. As a share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product, health spending accounted for 17.7 percent.

Why does healthcare cost so much?

Why is health care so expensive? The most salient reason is that U.S. health care is based on a "for-profit insurance system," one of the only ones in the world, according to Carmen Balber,...

How much does healthcare cost per year?

In 2018, U.S. health care costs were $3.6 trillion. That makes health care one of the country's largest industries. It equals 17.7% of gross domestic product. 1 In comparison, health care cost $27.2 billion in 1960, just 5% of GDP. 2 That translates to an annual health care cost of $11,172 per person in 2018 versus just $147 per person in 1960.