# How much do Americans spend on medical care and insurance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 6, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483 "2008-07-06T20:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/1 "2008-07-06T20:03:28Z")
The lack of socialised medical care in America has often been decried here, but how much do Americans actually spend on medical matters? And of that, how many have insurance and how much in premiums do they pay? GQ answers only please. For comparison, in 2005 the U.K. spent £94B on the NHS and £18B on private care. [Cite](http://www.ippr.org/pressreleases/?id=3182). Since only 8% pay for private health insurance and healthcare, that’s about £1600 per person for the NHS and £3750 for private. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/2 "2008-07-06T20:09:37Z")
I think the last time I was told a specific number for total health care costs per person it was about US$5500/year/person The thing about insurance is that most people who carry medical insurance do so as a benefit provided by their employer. In many cases, most or all of the premium is paid by the employer as well. So it’s hard to quantify how much each person is paying in premiums. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/3 "2008-07-06T20:13:30Z")
Mr. Athena and I are both self-employed, which means we are responsible for our own medical insurance. We pay $350/month for coverage that supposedly will cover 100% of everything after we pay the deductible, which is something like $3800/year. There are definitely things that are excluded - a normal pregnancy, for example, is not covered (an abnormal pregnancy would be). Given that we’re (thank God) reasonably healthy, we never hit the deductible in a year, so in practice we pay for all our medical care. Mr. Athena is on medication for high blood pressure and the generic (ie, cheap) drugs give him a nasty cough, so we shell out $70/month for the name brand drugs. We each probably end up at the doctor a couple times a year (mostly allergy related stuff) and that comes to about $100 each visit. So altogether, figure ~$5500/year for the two of us. It is all tax-deductible, so in real money it’s probably only about ~4K out of pocket. But hell, that’s not chump change. Also note that when I went from being an employee to self-employed, I definitely set my hourly rate high enough that it made up the difference between employer-provided health care and having to pay for it myself. Plus figure in that our monthly deductibles increase about 25-30% a year. We counter that by changing health insurance providers every few years, but if we were to get seriously ill, I don’t think we could do that. None if this includes dental or eye care - we have no insurance for that, we just pay out of pocket. We are very hopeful that at some point, we’ll get socialized medicine in this country, but I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/4 "2008-07-06T20:42:27Z")
Americans also pay into a gov’t fund that covers medical expenses when they reach a certain age (65?). This should also probably be counted, though again part of the money is paid by their employer, so I’m not sure how you’d factor that in. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/5 "2008-07-06T20:53:28Z")
The [website](http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml) of the National Coalition on Health Care says that health expenditures were $7,600 per person in 2007. (The website attributes that number to a study from _Health Affairs_ called, “Health Spending Projections Through 2016: Modest Changes Obscure Part D’s Impact.”) ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/6 "2008-07-06T21:00:22Z")
138.00 per month for blue cross blue shield. No dental, no Optic, bare bones plan. I am 28 in perfect health with no preexisting conditions, and have not made a claim in 3 years. They do raise it every year like clockwork though. My deductible is ludicrously high though, something like 8000.00. On a below 30K income that amount is not inconsiderable every month. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/7 "2008-07-06T21:03:42Z")
A Wikipedia [article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States) on health care in the US says $7,439 per capita in 2007, based on numbers from the Office of the Actuary in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (The actual PDF document is [here](http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/proj2007.pdf).) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/8 "2008-07-06T21:21:58Z")
Interesting figures. From what’s been said, everyone over 65 has state-funded healthcare, but what proportion of those younger have healthcare? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/9 "2008-07-06T21:49:34Z")
Well, everyone, both younger and older than 65, can get healthcare. (If you show up at an emergency room, they aren’t going to deny needed care based on inability to pay.) So are you asking what proportion of those younger than 65 are uninsured? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/10 "2008-07-07T00:28:53Z")
Comparative WHO stats (see pages 84 – 90): [http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN\_WHS08\_Full.pdf](http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN_WHS08_Full.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/11 "2008-07-07T03:24:43Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Americans also pay into a gov’t fund that covers medical expenses when they reach a certain age (65?). This should also probably be counted, though again part of the money is paid by their employer, so I’m not sure how you’d factor that in. [/QUOTE] It should be pointed out that Medicare does not provide free medical care. The patient still has to pay for a certain percentage and deductibles. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/12 "2008-07-07T07:22:08Z")
[QUOTE=Muffin] Comparative WHO stats (see pages 84 – 90): [http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN\_WHS08\_Full.pdf](http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN_WHS08_Full.pdf) [/QUOTE] That’s particularly helpful, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/13 "2008-07-07T10:03:02Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] It should be pointed out that Medicare does not provide free medical care. The patient still has to pay for a certain percentage and deductibles. [/QUOTE] My father pays for supplemental coverage for this very reason. When my mom got cancer, I believe he paid $20 out of pocket. Without the supplemental, it would have been many thousands of dollars. My SIL and BIL retired early, and their health insurance is $1700/month for the two of them. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/14 "2008-07-07T11:12:18Z")
My wife and I are self-employed, non-smokers in our mid 30s, and pay $270/mo total (a UK firm) for the both of us to be covered. Deductible is $2000/yr. This covers us everywhere in the world except the USA, up to $10 million. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/15 "2008-07-07T12:27:09Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] For comparison, in 2005 the U.K. spent £94B on the NHS and £18B on private care. [Cite](http://www.ippr.org/pressreleases/?id=3182). Since only 8% pay for private health insurance and healthcare, that’s about £1600 per person for the NHS and £3750 for private. [/QUOTE] I think you need to be a bit careful about the NHS/private split, since I think a lot of stuff would still end up hitting the NHS even if you are insured - even if you pay privately to see a doctor for diagnosis, the big-ticket stuff like cancer, kidney failure, chronic ilness etc. is often excluded. “Private” in the UK often means just smoothing the rough edges off the basic NHS system, so you might end up with e.g. £1400+£3750 for private. Similarly, don’t forget that everyone in the US who is paying for insurance is also contributing towards medicare, medicaid and other government programs, so you need to add that on to the numbers quoted. In terms of proportion of national income, I believe the US goverment spends almost as much on social medicine as the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/16 "2008-07-07T12:50:49Z")
Here’s a link to a recent article in the Canadian magazine, Macleans: [Good health, for less: We’re much healthier than Americans, even though we pay half as much for health care](http://www.macleans.ca/science/health/article.jsp?content=20080625_19351_19351). The gist of the article is that Americans are estimated to spend almost double the per capita amount that Canadians do, including both public and private expenditures: > [@](#): > > In 2005 their combined public and private expenditure was US$6,401 per person, while we spent just US$3,326. However, that increased expenditure doesn’t buy Americans better health than Canadians, on average: > [@](#): > > Maybe it’s the sea air, rolling Prairies and mountain streams. Maybe it’s the public health care. Maybe it’s the fact that we eat twice as many fruits and veggies. But whatever it is, one thing’s for sure: Canadians are a lot healthier than Americans. > > It’s an issue that used to be hotly debated, but a few years ago a massive Harvard Medical School study settled it once and for all. The study analyzed surveys of more than 8,000 people and found that not only are Canadians thinner and more active than Americans, but we’re less likely to have almost any disease you can think of, including diabetes, asthma, heart disease and major depression. International comparisons by other groups have since proved beyond a doubt that the hale Canadian is alive and well, literally. When you look at lifespan and infant mortality — the leading indicators of a country’s health — we beat the Americans hands down. Canadian men now have life expectancies of 77.8 years, compared to 75.2 years in the U.S., while our women are living 82.6 years compared to 80.4 years south of the border. Meanwhile we have only 5.3 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births, compared to 6.8 in the States. The article notes that there are life-style differences that come into play. Canadians tend to have healthier diets, eat less, and get more exercise. But the Canadian public health system also plays a significant role. The article notes that the health rates for well-insured Americans tend to stack up well against the average health rates for Canadians. What pulls the US overall health rate down is the uninsured and under-insured Americans: > [@](#): > > The fact that we take better care of our poor through our public health system also seems to boost our overall standing. Harvard Medical School’s Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, who co-authored the U.S. versus Canada analysis, says that if you compare only the Americans who have good health insurance to Canadians, we come out about the same. It’s the poor health of the uninsured Americans that tips the balance in our favour. Many studies have concluded that the main problem with the American system is that a lot of sick people can’t afford to use it — even people with insurance. In the U.S., “people without health insurance have always had financial problems when they got sick,” says Cathy Schoen, senior vice-president of the Commonwealth Fund. “What’s new is that we’re seeing a sharp spike in the number of people with health insurance who still can’t afford their medical bills.” It’s estimated that about 25 million Americans who have insurance still have problems paying their bills, mainly because of high deductibles, limits on what the insurance company will pay for (pre-existing conditions are often not covered), and maximum payout amounts. Because of those high costs, a shocking 31 per cent of Americans who have insurance have decided to forgo care they needed at some point, while 68 per cent of those without insurance have done the same. Meanwhile in Canada, only 12 per cent say they have gone without care because of the cost. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-americans-spend-on-medical-care-and-insurance/455483/17 "2008-07-07T14:35:45Z")
$48/mo. for a Blue Cross dental PPO; $152/mo. for their medical, with a high deductible.