U.S. Annual Healthcare Spending Is A Stunning $3.4 Trillion, Says Study

As part of ongoing research into national healthcare spending, the Deloitte Center For Health Solutions recently published their findings based on health data from 2012. According to the new report, there’s an additional amount of healthcare consumer spending that isn’t included in the federal calculations (often referred to as the National Healthcare Expenditure or just NHE). The new Deloitte calculations represent out‒of‒pocket expenses by consumers and amount to an additional $672 billion for 2012.  By Deloitte’s accounting, this additional amount puts the NHE for 2012 at $3.46 trillion.

These increases are expected to continue as employers shift to high-deductible offerings and individuals gain coverage through insurance marketplaces. The annually reported national estimates do not tell the whole story. Deloitte’s Center for Health Solutions has analyzed data from the Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey and other sources to develop a more complete picture of resources going to health care, including the out‒of‒pocket costs incurred by consumers. Dig Deep ‒ Impacts and Implications of Rising Out‒of‒Pocket Health Care Costs ‒ Deloitte Center For Health Solutions

The Deloitte study suggests that the federal definition of out-of-pocket doesn’t include multiple direct costs to consumers and the largest single category of “imputed indirect costs associated with supervisory care.” In other words, the additional costs that consumers spend every years either directly or as caregivers for family members or friends with an illness. Deloitte believes these two categories combined equals $672 billion which should be added to the NHE figures...