National Healthcare Trends

Healthcare expenditures in the U.S. represent a greater percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than in any other country. At $2.2 trillion, or 16.5 percent of GDP, the 2006 U.S. National Health Expenditures (NHE) dwarf other major sectors of the economy – and they are projected to represent as much as 20 percent of GDP by 2015.

The government – primarily through public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid – continues to be the largest financier of healthcare, bearing almost half of the total costs. Private health insurance accounts for a little more than one-third of the total.

Looking at where the nation’s overall healthcare dollar is spent, hospital, physician and pharmaceutical costs continue to account for more than 60 percent of the total. Hospital care remains in the forefront representing about 30 percent of spending, with clinical and physician services at about 21 percent and prescription drugs accounting for another 10 percent.

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