Latest Numbers On Americans’ Health Care Spending Show Big Increases In 2023

Americans’ spending for health care far outpaced the rate of inflation in 2023, according to new numbers released by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Get ready: The numbers are big.

 As a nation, we spent $4.9 trillion for health care, a 7.5% increase over 2022. The nation’s overall inflation rate for all goods and services was 4.1%.

Spending on hospital care constituted the largest single category at $1.5 trillion, or 31% of the total. Physician and clinical services accounted for 20% of the spending, and retail prescription drugs accounted for 9%. Keep in mind that higher spending in those categories is then reflected in our insurance costs.

Dig deeper in the numbers and you’ll see Americans’ total spending on hospital care surged 10.4%, the highest increase in decades. Part of the increase can be attributed to the end of the pandemic and increased use of hospital and higher-intensity care, Anne Martin, an economist with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Axios.

Spending on physician and clinical services grew by 7.4% and spending for prescription drugs jumped 11.4%.

One more set of numbers to consider: On average, health care cost U.S. consumers, businesses and governments a total of $14,750 per person in 2023; up from $13,617 in 2022 and from $10,579 in 2017.

What about you and your family? Are you spending a lot more for health care? Share your story with Voices for Affordable Health.