Public Health's Falling Share of US Health Spending.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Aggregate national expenditure time-series analysis (graded by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
PubMed 26562115 · doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302908
What was done
Historical and projected data from the National Health Expenditure Accounts were analyzed to track trends in US public health spending from 1960 with projections through 2023.
What was found
Inflation-adjusted per-capita public health spending rose from $39 in 1960 to $281 in 2008, followed by a 9.3% drop between 2008 and 2014. Public health's share of total health expenditures rose from 1.36% in 1960 to 3.18% in 2002, then decreased to 2.65% in 2014, with a projected decline to 2.40% by 2023.
Why it matters
This paper documents a persistent decline in the proportion and per-capita allocation of US health resources directed toward public health, raising concerns about preventative care and preparedness for emerging health threats.
Limits
The abstract provides high-level aggregate expenditure trends without reporting state-level variations, program-specific breakdowns, or the methodology underlying the future projections.
Cited by
- context Approximately 97.5% of United States healthcare spending goes to disease treatment, while only 2.5% is spent on disease prevention.