View the chart: Health Care Costs
This series of charts displays health care spending data, as well as trends in insurance coverage, and the size of programs helping those who cannot afford to pay for medical care.
The data on health care spending is collected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In addition to administering Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the CMS collects data on annual health spending. Their spending data for previous years is not adjusted for inflation. Adjusting for inflation using the Consumer Price Index reveals a dramatic rise in health care costs. Per capita spending today is approximately 8 times greater than in 1960. For nearly all categories of expense, costs rise sharply with age.
The Kaiser Family Foundation , a nonpartisan health issues policy institute; and the Health Research and Educational Trust, a group with the mission of “Transforming health care through research and education” conduct a survey of employers on health benefit costs and coverage. Their findings, combined with those of the Centers for Disease Control’s annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System indicate that the percentage adults who are without insurance has risen gradually over the past ten years as employer-provided insurance costs have risen.
Meanwhile, the costs of the Catastrophic Health Care Cost Program and the number of Idaho children covered by Medicaid have risen over the past five years. Even following the worst of the recession, the burden on Idaho’s health care safety net is increasing.
To explore the data firsthand, visit our Health Care Costs Interactive graphic.
For further information, e-mail ppc@boisestate.edu. Graphics and briefing by April Hoy.