The amount of money Americans spent on healthcare declined in 2020 for the first time since at least 1960, when CMS started recording national healthcare expenditures, according to preliminary analysis released Feb. 16 by nonprofit Altarum.
Based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Altarum's preliminary estimate is that total healthcare spending in the U.S. in 2020 dropped 2 percent from 2019, a decline of about $75.8 billion dollars.
Analysis found that decreased spending on hospital care and dental care were key contributors to the decline.