Healthcare spending is consuming an increasingly large amount of national economic resources, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.
In its annual report to Congress, MedPAC provided information on national healthcare spending growth, which has accounted for a double-digit share of gross domestic product annually since 1982. Here are five key findings on healthcare spending from the report.
1. National healthcare spending increased from about 9 percent of GDP in 1980 to just more than 17 percent in 2009, a level it maintained through 2012, according to MedPAC. By 2022, healthcare spending is projected to rise further to approximately 19 percent of GDP.
2. In 2012, total U.S. healthcare spending was $2.8 trillion, or $8,915 per person.
3. Personal healthcare spending — expenses for all medical goods and services provided for the treatment of an individual — accounted for 85 percent ($2.4 trillion) of total healthcare spending in 2012.
4. Hospital care accounted for 37 percent ($882 billion) of personal healthcare spending in 2012.
5. Of the $2.4 trillion spent on personal healthcare in 2012, Medicare accounted for 23 percent ($538 billion).
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