NIHCM: 5% of Patients Account for Half of Healthcare Spending

Almost 50 percent of all healthcare spending is concentrated among 5 percent of patients who are deemed “high-cost” users, according to recent research conducted by the National Institute for Health Care Management.

For the study, NIHCM analyzed data from the 2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Other key findings from the study include the following:

• Patients over 55 years old made up a large portion of high-spending groups.

• The five most expensive health conditions are heart disease, cancer, trauma, mental disorders and pulmonary conditions.

• These conditions combined account for 33-37 percent of total healthcare spending from 1996-2006.

• Total national healthcare spending increased from just over $2 billion in 2005 to nearly $2.5 billion in 2009, representing a 23 percent increase over that time period.

• Accounting for population growth, per-capita healthcare spending grew 18.4 percent from 2005-2009.

• Spending on hospital care and physician/clinical services increased 21 percent and 18 percent, respectively, from 2005-2009.

• Contributing factors to rising healthcare prices include new and emerging medical technology, fee-for-service payment incentives and increasing rates of obesity.

Read the NIHCM report in full here (pdf).

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