National health care spending in the US rose by 7.2% in 2024, according to research published in the journal Health Affairs (Hartman M, Martin AB, Lassman D, Catlin A; National Health Expenditure Accounts Team. National Health Care Spending Increased 7.2 Percent In 2024 As Utilization Remained Elevated, Health Aff (Millwood), Published online January 14, 2026, doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2025.01683).The authors report:"Health care spending reached $5.3 trillion, or $15,474 per person, growing 7.2 percent in 2024 (exhibit 1). This was the second consecutive year of growth above 7 percent (growth was 7.4 percent in 2023), after growth of 4.1 percent in 2021 and 4.8 percent in 2022. The strong growth in both 2023…
West Health-Gallup: Cost Is Most Urgent Health Problem Facing US
The cost of healthcare is the most urgent health problem facing the United States. That's according to new research by West Health-Gallup (Lydia Saad and Megan Brenan, "Cost Leads Americans' Top-of-Mind Healthcare Concerns," December 15, 2025).According to Gallup:"Americans’ already elevated perception that the cost of healthcare is the 'most urgent health problem' facing the country rose further this year to 29%, up from 23% a year ago. The latest figure is the highest level recorded since 2004 and also one of the highest readings in the trend dating back to 1987. Cost now outpaces access to healthcare, at 17%, and…
US Healthcare Spending Hits $4.9 Trillion
December 18, 2024 US healthcare spending continues to grow. According to an article in the journal Health Affairs (Anne B. Martin, Micah Hartman, Benjamin Washington, Aaron Catlin, and The National Health Expenditure Accounts Team, National Health Expenditures In 2023: Faster Growth As Insurance Coverage And Utilization Increased, Health Affairs (2024), doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01375):"National health care spending reached $4.9 trillion in 2023 (or $14,570 per person), increasing 7.5 percent from 2022 (exhibit 1). This rate of growth was faster than in 2021 and 2022, when health care spending increased 4.2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively. The lower growth during 2021 and 2022 was affected by the expiration of temporary federal funding…
US Healthcare Spending in 2022: $4.5 Trillion
January 2, 2024 According to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (accessed January 2, 2024): "US health care spending grew 4.1 percent to reach $4.5 trillion in 2022, faster than the increase of 3.2 percent in 2021 but much slower than the rate of 10.6 percent in 2020. The growth in 2022 reflected strong growth in Medicaid and private health insurance spending that was somewhat offset by continued declines in supplemental funding by the federal government associated with the COVID-19 pandemic."In a related article published in the journal Health Affairs ("National Health Expenditure Accounts Team. National Health Care…