5 Percent Of Americans Account For Half Of Nation’s Health Care Spending
A new report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has found that five percent of Americans are responsible for half the nation's health care spending. In the meantime, half the population spends practically nothing on health care in a year.
NPR: Biggest Bucks In Health Care Are Spent On A Very Few
Researchers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality looked at the way people actually spend money on health care. They found that half the population spends practically nothing on health care in any given year, while a very few unlucky people account for the lion's share (Rovner, 1/12).
The Hill: Study Half Of U.S. Health Care Spending Covers 5 Percent of Americans
Five percent of Americans are responsible for a full half of the nation's health care spending, according to a new federal report. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality study also found the top 1 percent is responsible for 22 percent of the $1.26 trillion the United States spent on health care in 2009, or about $90,000 per person. The findings were reported by USA Today. The numbers are likely to rekindle debate on the nation's health care system as lawmakers and the administration strive to improve care coordination, especially for seniors on Medicare (Pecquet, 1/12).
CQ HealthBeat: One Percent Of Population Accounts For Nearly 22 Percent Of Health Spending
A new statistical brief by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality confirms previous studies that a small segment of the population drives health care expenses. The data shows that 1 percent of the population accounted for 21.8 percent of health spending. According to the study, health care expenses totaled $1.26 trillion in 2009. And among the 1 percent of the top spenders, the average cost was $90,061 per person (1/12).