The U.S. spent $5.3 trillion on healthcare in 2024, or more than $10 million every minute, according to a KFF Health News analysis published Oct. 23.
The analysis draws on the most recent national health expenditure data from CMS. National health spending grew 7.2% in 2024, Becker’s previously reported.
Here are seven numbers healthcare leaders should know:
1. Daily U.S. healthcare spending averaged more than $14.4 billion in 2024.
2. Per-person health spending averaged $15,474 in 2024, up from $14,963 in 2023. KFF said rising prices, rather than a sicker population, drove the increase. The U.S. has roughly half as many in-person physician consultations per person as comparable countries, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. All dollar figures are adjusted for inflation and expressed in 2024 dollars.
3. Hospital care accounted for $1.6 trillion in 2024 spending and has been the largest category of U.S. health spending for more than 20 years. Physician and clinical services followed at $1.1 trillion, and retail prescription drugs at $500 billion.
4. Retail prescription drug spending is projected to grow by an average of 5.7% a year over the next decade, slightly outpacing hospital care. Hospitals are still expected to remain the largest spending category, KFF reported.
5. The federal government was the largest funder of healthcare in 2024, covering 31% of spending, or $1.65 trillion. Households were second at 28%, or $1.46 trillion. KFF noted that taxpayers ultimately supply most federal, state and local health dollars.
6. Healthcare accounted for 18% of U.S. gross domestic product in 2024.
7. Healthcare is projected to reach 20% of GDP by 2032 because health spending is expected to keep growing faster than the overall economy. Hospitals have warned of systemic strain as spending nears that level.
“We’re not going to be able to finance our way out of healthcare spending that’s growing faster than GDP,” Michael Chernew, PhD, a Harvard Medical School professor, told KFF Health News. “We’ll all end up with healthcare and no clothes or houses or cars.”
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