Health Care Spending Growth in 2012

For the third consecutive year, the growth rate of health care spending among privately insured people under age 65 remained low in 2012, growing 4.0 percent, slightly lower than in 2011 (4.1%), says the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI). Health care spending averaged $4,701 per person with employer-sponsored coverage in 2012, up $181 from the year before. Forty-five percent of the additional dollars were due to more spending on outpatient care. In addition, out-of-pocket spending rose more quickly than expenditures per person in 2012, increasing 4.8 percent to $768 for each individual. After three years of slowing growth, spending per person on prescription drugs and devices reversed course, growing 3.8 percent in 2012, due mainly to increased use and rising prices for generic drugs. Inpatient spending grew slower (2.4%) than any other medical service category in 2012, while spending on outpatient services grew at the fastest rate (6.5%). Prices rose 5.4 percent for inpatient services, and 5.6 percent for outpatient services. Source: Health Care Cost Institute