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Consumers spending more on out-of-pocket costs

The growth rate of health care spending continues to remain low, a new report says, but consumers may not be getting much of a relief.

By Kathryn Mayer | Updated on November 01, 2013

The growth rate of health care spending continues to remain low, a new report says, but consumers may not be getting much of a relief.

Health spending by privately insured patients increased 4 percent last year, according to the Health Care Cost Institute, continuing a three-year trend of lower health spending growth. But consumers are spending more on out-of-pocket costs, and women and young adults are now carrying a bigger burden.

Health care spending averaged $4,701 per person with employer-sponsored coverage in 2012, up $181 from the year before, the nonprofit group that conducts health research found. Almost half (45 percent) of the additional dollars were due to more spending on outpatient care. Out-of-pocket spending rose more quickly than expenditures per person in 2012, increasing 4.8 percent to $768 for each individual, the report found.

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