The U.S. spent $4.5T on health care in 2022 (that’s $13,500 per person)

Health care spending in the United States in 2022 grew by more than 4% to a total of $4.5 trillion. Although the rate of growth was higher than the 3.2% increase the previous year, it was much slower than the 10.6% rate in the pandemic year of 2020.

The increase in 2022 reflected strong growth in Medicaid and private health insurance spending that was somewhat offset by continued declines in supplemental funding by the federal government associated with the pandemic. Private health insurance spending, which totals a 29% share, increased by 5.9% in 2022 (to $1.3 trillion), which was slightly slower than the increase of 6.3% in 2021. The U.S. spent $13,493 on health care per person in 2022.

In 2022, the insured consumers reached 92% (a historic high). Private health insurance enrollment increased by 2.9 million individuals and Medicaid enrollment increased by 6.1 million individuals. In 2022, 26.6 million individuals were uninsured, down from 28.5 million in 2021.

“Health-care expenditures since 2020 have reflected volatile patterns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government’s response to the public health emergency,” said Micah Hartman, a statistician for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary.

This is how the spending breaks down by type of service or product:

• Hospital care (30% share): Spending for hospital care services increased 2.2% in 2022 to reach $1.4 trillion; however, this was a slower growth rate than the 4.5% experienced in 2021.
• Physician and clinical services (20%): Spending on physician and clinical services increased 2.7% to $8,84.9 billion in 2022, slower than the increase of 5.3% in 2021.
• Retail prescription drugs (9%):Retail prescription drug spending increased 8.4% to $405.9 billion in 2022, a faster rate than in 2021, when spending increased by 6.8%. Medicare and out-of-pocket spending growth for retail prescription drugs accelerated, while Medicaid and private health insurance spending growth slowed.
• Other health, residential and personal care services (6%): This category includes expenditures for medical services that generally are delivered by providers in non-traditional settings, such as schools, community centers and the workplace, as well as by ambulance providers and residential mental health and substance abuse facilities.
• Nursing care facilities and continuing care retirement communities (4%): Spending for services provided at freestanding nursing care facilities and continuing care retirement communities rose in 2022 by 5.6% to $191.3 billion, compared to a decline of 7.8% in 2021.
• Dental services (4%): Spending for dental services increased just 0.3% in 2022 to $165.3 billion following much faster growth of 18.2% in 2021.
• Home health care (3%): Spending for services provided by freestanding home health-care agencies increased 6% in 2022 to $132.9 billion, accelerating from growth of 0.3% in 2021.
• Other professional services (3%): Spending for other professional services includes establishments of independent health practitioners (except physicians and dentists) that primarily provide services such as physical therapy, optometry, podiatry or chiropractic medicine.
• Other non-durable medical products (3%): Retail spending for other non-durable medical products, such as over-the-counter medicines, medical instruments and surgical dressings, increased 8.5% to $115.4 billion in 2022, slower than in 2021, when spending increased 12.3%.
• Durable medical equipment (2%): Retail spending for durable medical equipment, which includes items such as contact lenses, eyeglasses and hearing aids, increased 5.1% in 2022 to $67.1 billion, following much faster growth of 18.6% in 2021.

Related: Why unnecessary medical testing prevails in the U.S. health care system, wasting billions

As for the future of spending, “trends are expected to be driven more by health-specific factors such as medical-specific price inflation, the utilization and intensity of medical care, and the demographic impacts associated with the continuing enrollment of the baby boomers in Medicare,” Hartman said.