According to new estimates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. health care spending increased 5.3 percent in 2014, following growth of 2.9 percent in 2013, to reach $3.0 trillion, or $9,523 per person. HHS reports that the faster growth experienced in 2014 was primarily due to the major coverage expansions under the Affordable Care Act, particularly for Medicaid and private health insurance.
The 2014 estimates from HHS, which are known as the National Health Expenditure Accounts (NHEA), show that the share of the economy devoted to health care spending was 17.5 percent, up from 17.3 percent in 2013. Spending for hospital care increased 4.1 percent to $971.8 billion in 2014, and spending on physician and clinical services increased 4.6 percent to $603.7 billion.
Households (28 percent) and the federal government (28 percent) each accounted for the largest shares of spending in 2014, followed by private businesses (20 percent), and state and local governments (17 percent). Growth in federal government spending outpaced growth in expenditures for all other sponsors of health care in 2014, increasing 11.7 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in 2013.
