National Health Expenditures In 2023: Faster Growth As Insurance Coverage And Utilization Increased.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Graded by design analogy for macroeconomic accounting data rather than clinical CEBM.
PubMed 39693578 · doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01375
What was done
Analysis of aggregate US national health spending data for 2023, tracking total expenditure, annual growth rates, insurance coverage rates, payer distributions across Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance, and health spending as a share of the economy.
What was found
US health care spending reached $4.9 trillion and grew 7.5 percent in 2023, up from 4.6 percent in 2022. The insured share of the population reached 92.5 percent. Private health insurance enrollment increased strongly for the second consecutive year, and spending grew faster for both private insurance and Medicare than in 2022. Medicaid spending and enrollment growth slowed following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The health sector accounted for 17.6 percent of the economy in 2023, compared to 17.4 percent in 2022 and lower than in 2020 and 2021. State and local government spending shares increased, while the federal government share declined.
Why it matters
This report establishes the official national accounting of US healthcare expenditure trends, showing accelerated overall growth and coverage expansion alongside a post-emergency shift away from federal spending.
Limits
The abstract reports aggregate macroeconomic accounting totals without individual sample sizes, confidence intervals, or specific breakdowns by clinical care category.
Cited by
- supports The United States spends $13,000 per person on healthcare.