Health Affairs
Anne B. Martin, Micah Hartman, Joseph Benson, Aaron Catlin, and Anne B. Martin, and The National Health Expenditure Accounts Team
DECEMBER 14, 2022
National Health Care Spending In 2021: Decline In Federal Spending Outweighs Greater Use Of Health Care
Abstract
- Health care spending in the US grew 2.7 percent to reach $4.3 trillion in 2021, a much slower rate than the increase of 10.3 percent seen in 2020.
- The slower rate of growth in 2021 was driven by a 3.5 percent decline in federal government expenditures for health care after a spike in 2020 that occurred largely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Alongside this decline, the use of medical goods and services increased in 2021.
- The share of the economy accounted for by the health sector fell from 19.7 percent in 2020 to 18.3 percent in 2021, but it was still higher than the 17.6 percent share in 2019.
- In 2021 the number of uninsured people declined for the second consecutive year as Medicaid enrollment increased.
The slower rate of growth in 2021 was driven by a 3.5 percent decline in federal government expenditures for health care after a spike in 2020 that occurred largely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The share of the economy accounted for by the health sector fell from 19.7 percent in 2020 to 18.3 percent in 2021, but it was still higher than the 17.6 percent share in 2019.
About the authors & affiliations
Anne B. Martin, Micah Hartman, Joseph Benson, Aaron Catlin, and Anne B. Martin, and The National Health Expenditure Accounts Team
Anne B. Martin , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Baltimore, Maryland.
Micah Hartman, CMS.
Joseph Benson, CMS.
Aaron Catlin, CMS.
The National Health Expenditure Accounts Team, CMS.
