Imagine a nation spending nearly a fifth of everything it produces on healthcare, where each citizen's share is over $12,900 a year and climbing, a price tag that towers above every other high-income country.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, U.S. national health expenditures totaled $4.5 trillion, accounting for 17.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with an increase of 4.1 percent from 2021.
- U.S. per capita health spending reached $12,914 in 2022, a 4.1 percent increase from the previous year, far exceeding other high-income countries.
- From 2012 to 2022, U.S. health spending growth averaged 4.2 percent annually, driven by increased utilization and prices.
- Employer-sponsored insurance covered 153 million people in 2022, with average premiums of $23,968 for family coverage.
- Average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health insurance rose 3 percent to $23,968 in 2023.
- Worker contribution to family premiums averaged $6,575 in 2023, up 7 percent from 2022.
- Average U.S. retail price for a brand-name prescription drug was $568 in 2022.
- Insulin list prices increased 54 percent from 2014 to 2023, averaging $300 per month without insurance.
- Medicare Part D spending on brand-name drugs grew 11 percent to $166 billion in 2022.
- Average hospital admission cost in the U.S. was $2,883 per day in 2022.
- National average price for a hospital stay was $2,900 in 2023 for commercial payers.
- Emergency department visit average cost was $2,200 in 2022 without insurance.
- Average cost of out-of-pocket expenses for Americans was $1,425 in 2022.
- 23 percent of adults skipped needed care due to cost in 2023.
- Average deductible for single coverage in employer plans was $1,735 in 2023 for HDHPs.
U.S. healthcare costs are extraordinarily high and growing faster than the economy.
Hospital and Physician Costs
- Average hospital admission cost in the U.S. was $2,883 per day in 2022.
- National average price for a hospital stay was $2,900 in 2023 for commercial payers.
- Emergency department visit average cost was $2,200 in 2022 without insurance.
- Average cost of childbirth in hospital was $13,024 in 2022.
- Physician fees account for 25 percent of hospital revenue, averaging $150 per office visit in 2023.
- MRI scan average cost was $1,325 in hospital outpatient settings in 2022.
- Hip replacement surgery averaged $28,233 in 2022.
- Knee replacement average cost was $34,465 in 2022.
- Appendectomy cost averaged $33,000 in 2022.
- Coronary artery bypass graft surgery averaged $123,000 in 2022.
- Average physician reimbursement for primary care visit was $116 under Medicare in 2023.
- Specialist visit average cost was $342 without insurance in 2023.
- Hospital prices for commercial insurers were 254 percent of Medicare rates in 2022.
- Average negotiated price for inpatient hospital care was 189 percent of Medicare in 2021.
- Outpatient hospital prices averaged 264 percent of Medicare rates for commercial payers.
- U.S. hospital spending per admission is 70 percent higher than OECD average.
- Average cost of a colonoscopy was $1,250 in hospital settings in 2023.
- Cataract surgery averaged $4,241 in 2022.
- Mammogram average cost was $344 in hospital facilities in 2023.
- PT visit average cost was $125 per session in outpatient clinics in 2023.
- Average commercial price for office visit Level 4 was $194 in 2022.
- Hospital market consolidation led to 11 percent price increase per merger.
- In 2022, average daily hospital charge was $3,025 for Medicare patients.
- Surgeon fees for appendectomy averaged $5,000 in 2022.
- Anesthesia costs for surgery averaged 10 percent of total procedure cost.
Hospital and Physician Costs Interpretation
The American healthcare system has perfected the art of making you pay through the nose for the privilege of being stitched back together, where a single day in the hospital costs as much as a luxury vacation, and having a baby requires a down payment traditionally reserved for a new car.
Insurance and Premium Costs
- Employer-sponsored insurance covered 153 million people in 2022, with average premiums of $23,968 for family coverage.
- Average annual premium for employer-sponsored family health insurance rose 3 percent to $23,968 in 2023.
- Worker contribution to family premiums averaged $6,575 in 2023, up 7 percent from 2022.
- Single coverage premiums averaged $8,435 annually in 2023, with workers paying $1,401 on average.
- High-deductible health plans with savings options covered 29 percent of workers in 2023, up from 25 percent in 2022.
- Average deductible for single HDHP/SO coverage was $1,735 in 2023.
- Marketplace silver plan premiums averaged $456 per month before subsidies in 2023.
- With premium tax credits, average Marketplace enrollee paid $72 monthly for silver plans in 2023.
- Medicare Part B premiums increased 5.6 percent to $164.90 per month in 2023.
- Medicare Advantage average monthly premium was $18.50 in 2023, down from $19.00 in 2022.
- Medicaid managed care premiums per enrollee averaged $7,736 annually in 2020.
- Short-term limited duration insurance plans cost about $100 monthly for a 40-year-old in 2022.
- Average family premium for PPO plans was $24,235 in 2023.
- HMO premiums averaged $21,785 for families in 2023 employer plans.
- POS plan family premiums were $23,968 on average in 2023.
- EPO plan family premiums averaged $22,680 in 2023.
- 82 percent of covered workers were in self-insured plans in 2023.
- Average out-of-pocket maximum for single coverage was $4,034 in 2023 employer plans.
- Family out-of-pocket maximum averaged $8,299 in 2023.
- Prescription drug premiums for employer plans added $1,945 to family coverage costs in 2023.
- Dental coverage premiums averaged $508 annually for single and $1,462 for family in 2023.
Insurance and Premium Costs Interpretation
American families are now paying the price of a system where skipping a doctor's visit feels like a sound financial strategy, as employer-sponsored health insurance costs nearly as much as a new car while shifting more burden to workers through higher premiums, deductibles, and the quiet creep of high-deductible plans.
Out-of-Pocket and Uninsured Costs
- Average cost of out-of-pocket expenses for Americans was $1,425 in 2022.
- 23 percent of adults skipped needed care due to cost in 2023.
- Average deductible for single coverage in employer plans was $1,735 in 2023 for HDHPs.
- Uninsured adults faced average hospital bill of $10,000 per admission in 2022.
- 41 percent of adults with employer coverage had OOP maximums over $3,000 for family in 2023.
- Medical debt affected 14 million adults with bills over $1,000 in collections in 2022.
- Average OOP for prescription drugs was $236 annually for commercially insured in 2022.
- 28 percent of insured adults reported difficulty affording OOP costs in 2023.
- Uninsured rate was 8.4 percent in 2023, affecting 28 million people.
- Average surprise bill amount was $1,400 for emergency care in 2022 before protections.
- 66 percent of bankruptcies involved medical debt in 2022 studies.
- OOP spending as percent of income was 11 percent for low-income families in 2021.
- Average dental OOP cost was $400 per visit without insurance in 2023.
- Vision care OOP averaged $200 for exam and glasses in 2023.
- 25 percent of adults delayed care due to OOP costs in 2022.
- Uninsured children had 60 percent higher hospitalization costs per case.
- Average OOP maximum met was $1,200 for families in HDHPs in 2022.
- Medical debt under $500 affected 17 percent of adults in 2022.
- 10 percent of working-age adults owed over $10,000 in medical debt.
- OOP share of total health spending was 10 percent in 2022, totaling $452 billion.
Out-of-Pocket and Uninsured Costs Interpretation
The American healthcare system is a masterclass in cruel arithmetic, where skipping care, draining savings, and flirting with bankruptcy are the hidden premiums on policies that claim to offer protection.
Overall Healthcare Expenditures
- In 2022, U.S. national health expenditures totaled $4.5 trillion, accounting for 17.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with an increase of 4.1 percent from 2021.
- U.S. per capita health spending reached $12,914 in 2022, a 4.1 percent increase from the previous year, far exceeding other high-income countries.
- From 2012 to 2022, U.S. health spending growth averaged 4.2 percent annually, driven by increased utilization and prices.
- In 2021, Medicare spending accounted for 21 percent of total national health expenditures, totaling $829.5 billion.
- Private health insurance spending grew 5.4 percent to $1.2 trillion in 2022, representing 28 percent of total health spending.
- Medicaid expenditures reached $824.8 billion in 2022, a 9.7 percent increase, comprising 18 percent of national health spending.
- Hospital care accounted for 31 percent of total national health spending in 2022, totaling $1.4 trillion.
- Physician and clinical services made up 20 percent of health spending in 2022, with expenditures of $878.5 billion.
- Prescription drugs represented 9 percent of national health expenditures in 2022, amounting to $405.5 billion.
- U.S. health spending as a share of GDP was 16.6 percent in 2019, projected to rise to 19.7 percent by 2028.
- Between 2000 and 2020, U.S. national health spending grew from $1.4 trillion to $4.1 trillion, a 193 percent increase.
- In 2023 projections, total U.S. health spending is expected to grow 5.4 percent annually through 2031.
- Public health spending in the U.S. was 48 percent of total health expenditures in 2021.
- Administrative costs in the U.S. healthcare system consumed 8 percent of total health spending in 2019, or $496 billion.
- From 2013 to 2019, U.S. health spending per capita grew 4.3 percent annually, reaching $11,582.
- Nursing care facilities and continuing care retirement communities spending totaled $204.3 billion in 2022, 5 percent of total.
- Freestanding mental health and substance abuse facilities spending was $74.3 billion in 2022.
- Home health care expenditures grew 10.8 percent to $133.5 billion in 2022.
- U.S. health spending growth slowed to 2.7 percent in 2020 due to COVID-19 impacts.
- By 2030, national health expenditures are projected to reach $6.8 trillion.
- In 2018, U.S. health spending was 9.8 percent higher per person than Germany and 50 percent higher than Canada.
- Other professional services spending increased 4.6 percent to $116.2 billion in 2022.
- Other personal health care spending was $106.5 billion in 2022.
- Government administration and net cost of health insurance grew 6.2 percent to $183.3 billion in 2022.
- Investment spending in healthcare facilities was $124.4 billion in 2022.
- Public health activity spending rose 38.3 percent to $97.4 billion in 2022 due to COVID response.
- Research and development spending in health totaled $107.9 billion in 2022.
- In 2022, U.S. health spending grew faster than GDP for the first time since 2009.
Overall Healthcare Expenditures Interpretation
America’s healthcare system has perfected the art of spending more of its GDP for worse results than any other developed nation, operating like a luxury boutique with boutique prices but a flea market efficiency.
Prescription Drug Costs
- Average U.S. retail price for a brand-name prescription drug was $568 in 2022.
- Insulin list prices increased 54 percent from 2014 to 2023, averaging $300 per month without insurance.
- Medicare Part D spending on brand-name drugs grew 11 percent to $166 billion in 2022.
- U.S. prices for Humira were 8 times higher than in Canada in 2022.
- Generic drug prices in the U.S. fell 5 percent annually from 2017 to 2022.
- Out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs reached $68 billion in 2022 for commercially insured.
- Biosimilar penetration for top drugs was only 4 percent in U.S. commercial market in 2023.
- Medicare spent $37 billion on top 10 Part D drugs in 2022, with Ozempic at $4.6 billion.
- U.S. pays 2.56 times more for prescription drugs than other high-income countries on average.
- PBM rebates reduced net spending on brand drugs by 30 percent in commercial market in 2022.
- EpiPen list price rose from $94 in 2007 to $712 in 2022, a 657 percent increase.
- Specialty drugs accounted for 52 percent of total drug spending despite being 2 percent of prescriptions in 2022.
- Average generic fill rate was 91 percent in 2022, up from 89 percent in 2021.
- Net price growth for brand-name drugs was 5.9 percent in 2022 after rebates.
- Medicare Part B drug spending grew 12 percent to $40 billion in 2022.
- U.S. insulin prices are 8 times higher than in France and 10 times higher than in Canada.
- Copays for Tier 3 drugs averaged $85 per prescription in employer plans in 2023.
- 28 percent of Americans skipped medications due to cost in 2022.
- Total U.S. prescription drug spending was $644 billion in 2022.
- Brand-name drugs made up 79 percent of net spending in 2022 despite 21 percent of prescriptions.
Prescription Drug Costs Interpretation
While the pharmaceutical industry marvels at its own inventive pricing—turning life-saving drugs into luxury goods and patient wallets into collateral damage—Americans are left to wonder if their health is a market to be mined or a right to be protected.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CMScms.govVisit source
- Reference 2HEALTHSYSTEMTRACKERhealthsystemtracker.orgVisit source
- Reference 3KFFkff.orgVisit source
- Reference 4HEALTHAFFAIRShealthaffairs.orgVisit source
- Reference 5OECDoecd.orgVisit source
- Reference 6BMJbmj.comVisit source
- Reference 7COMMONWEALTHFUNDcommonwealthfund.orgVisit source
- Reference 8ASPEaspe.hhs.govVisit source
- Reference 9RANDrand.orgVisit source
- Reference 10AMA-ASSNama-assn.orgVisit source
- Reference 11IQVIAiqvia.comVisit source
- Reference 12PROPUBLICApropublica.orgVisit source
- Reference 13NACDSnacds.orgVisit source
- Reference 14DEFINITIVEHCdefinitivehc.comVisit source
- Reference 15TURQUOISEturquoise.healthVisit source
- Reference 16FAIRHEALTHCONSUMERfairhealthconsumer.orgVisit source
- Reference 17TRUVENHEALTHtruvenhealth.comVisit source
- Reference 18MGMAmgma.comVisit source
- Reference 19VERYWELLHEALTHverywellhealth.comVisit source
- Reference 20HEALTHCARECOSTANDUTILIZATIONPROJECThealthcarecostandutilizationproject.orgVisit source
- Reference 21HEALTHhealth.costhelper.comVisit source
- Reference 22NEWCHOICEHEALTHnewchoicehealth.comVisit source
- Reference 23HEALTHCAREBLUEBOOKhealthcarebluebook.comVisit source
- Reference 24MDSAVEmdsave.comVisit source
- Reference 25ASAHQasahq.orgVisit source